Well Enough

What does it really mean to navigate womanhood under constant scrutiny? This week on Well Enough, author, DJ and broadcaster Ashley James explains the impossible standards women face.

Ashley reveals the truth about misogynistic labels, from the slut-shaming she experienced at an all-boys school to being called 'selfish' both for not having children and then for wanting a life outside motherhood. She shares how becoming a mum forced her to confront her own internalised misogyny - and why birth trauma is dismissed as a 'negative mindset problem' rather than a maternity care failing.

We also explore the hidden costs of being a woman, from the £20,000 women spend on menstruation in their lifetime to the double standards that mean female voices are constantly questioned while male commentators speak without proving their credentials.

Ashley James’s bestselling Bimbo is available here
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Timecodes:

00:00 Introduction
03:16 The Misogyny Behind Calling Women Influencers
05:46 Slut-Shamed at 14
08:21 Punished for Having a Woman's Body
11:01 Why "Bimbo" Needs Reclaiming
14:06 The Impossible Standards of Mothers
17:11 Regretting Motherhood
20:16 Birth Trauma & the Failure of Maternity Care.
22:46 Why C-Sections Shouldn't Be Shamed
26:31 Childcare Costs More Than My Mortgage
28:46 The Pressure to "Bounce Back" After Birth
32:26 Trolls & Misogyny: Refusing to Be Silenced
36:41 The Hidden Cost of Having a Period
40:31 Medical Gaslighting: Why Women's Pain Is Dismissed
43:21 Raising Kids Without Misogynistic Labels
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Rosie Viva used to travel the world as a fashion model. It wasn’t until being arrested after a psychotic episode in Stansted Airport that she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

On the week of World Bipolar Day, Rosie joins Emilie on Well Enough to ask: what does the world still get wrong about bipolar, especially for women.

Rosie’s book ‘Completely Normal and Totally Fine’ charts her journey with bipolar. She documents mania, depression and recovery all whilst navigating relationships, jobs and her new identity. In today’s episode, she also shares her one rule for drinking on medication, how to manage hypomania without losing the magic, and why thinking she was Susan Boyle for a week taught her family not to challenge delusions.

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Useful links:
Rosie’s Substack
Rosie’s book ‘Completely Normal and Totally Fine’
‘Maybe its bipolar?’ test from Bipolar UK
Samaritans

Timecodes:
00:00 What Is Bipolar Disorder? Breaking Down the Basics
02:46 Type 1 vs Type 2 Bipolar: Understanding the Difference
05:21 Misdiagnosis: When Doctors Miss Bipolar in Women
08:16 The Psychotic Episode That Changed Everything
10:11 Religious Delusions & Mania: My Breaking Point
11:26 Arrested at Stansted Airport: The Baggage Drop Incident
13:01 The Shame Around Mental Illness Nobody Talks About
15:16 Getting the Right Medication: Why It Takes Time
17:26 When Therapy Goes Wrong: My NHS Experience
20:01 Managing Hypermania: Practical Tools That Work
22:16 Navigating Friendships with Bipolar Disorder
24:51 PMDD & Bipolar: The Hidden Connection for Women
27:31 Can Women with Bipolar Be Stable? The Answer Is Yes
29:56 How to Know If You Have Bipolar: First Steps
32:31 Making My Channel 4 Documentary: Telling My Story
35:26 Is My Madness Actually Magic? Reframing Bipolar
38:01 The Euphoria of Hypermania: Like Astronauts in Space
39:21 Drinking with Bipolar: My One Simple Rule
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The UK has a nutrition problem, and it's not the one most wellness influencers are shouting about. While TikTok pushes high-protein everything, Britain quietly ranks second-worst globally for fibre intake.

Nutritionist Rhiannon Lambert joins Emilie to expose the fibre gap, reveal why Parliament is finally paying attention, and explain how protein hype has distracted us from a genuine public health crisis. Only 4% of Brits meet the 30 gram daily target, and 80% think fibre is just about bowel movements - missing its profound impact on immunity, heart health, brain function, and even longevity.

Rhiannon also dismantles dangerous wellness trends, explains why "what I eat in a day" videos are mostly fiction, and shares the changing gender norms behind our lost cooking culture.

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Follow Rhiannon on Instagram here
Get Rhiannon’s book ‘The Fibre Formula’ here

Timecodes
00:00 The Pressure to Be a Perfect Nutritionist
02:46 The Reality of “What I Eat in a Day” Videos
05:46 The UK's Shocking Fibre Crisis
09:16 Why Diet Culture Destroyed Our Relationship with Food
12:01 Rhiannon’s journey: Opera Singer to Nutritionist
15:46 Taking the Fibre Fight to Parliament
18:56 Why Fibre Has Had Such Bad PR
22:11 The Protein Hype Has Done Damage
25:21 How to Eat More Mindfully
28:16 Fibre for Immunity, Heart Health & Your Brain
32:46 Why Women Lost Cooking Skills
35:01 Wellness Trends to Avoid
37:51 Why Social Connection is as Important as Nutrition
40:26 Simple Swaps for Better Gut Health
41:21 Shut Out the Noise
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TV presenter Cherry Healey shares her unexpected perimenopause journey, revealing how debilitating anxiety and heart palpitations at age 40 led her to nearly seek antidepressants, before discovering her symptoms were hormonal.

In this conversation, Cherry discusses the misdiagnosis crisis facing women in their forties, the connection between depleting estrogen and UTIs (including her own life-threatening sepsis scare), and why she believes perimenopause is actually "the main event", not menopause itself.

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Timecodes:
00:00 Perimenopause Hit at 40: Cherry's Story
02:11 When Menopause Was Taboo
04:01 The Dread That Won't Go Away
05:36 Finally Getting Diagnosed
07:01 How Misdiagnosis Destroys Women's Lives
08:06 Is Perimenopause the Main Event
10:06 Perimenopause as a Gift
11:21 Why Lifting Weights Changes Everything
14:31 Perimenopause Ended My Relationship
16:01 Should You Get Your Hormones Tested?
17:26 Track Your Cycle to Understand Your Body
21:26 The Power of Sleep
22:31 UTIs & Perimenopause: The Hidden Link
24:26 My UTI Turned Into Sepsis
27:01 Advice for Women Turning 40
32:21 The Wellness Boom & Longevity
38:46 What Makes You Feel Well Enough

Follow Cherry on Instagram here
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This week, award-winning BBC broadcaster, journalist and author Emma Barnett joins us to challenge everything we think we know about the newborn bubble. Emma's new book, Maternity Service, tears through the toxic positivity of early motherhood with refreshing - and often hilarious - honesty.

From the physical reality of recovering from a C-section to the quiet grief of losing your pre-baby identity, Emma holds nothing back. She also opens up about 21 years without an endometriosis diagnosis, six rounds of IVF, and how she's learned to survive - and thrive - with a chronic pain condition while raising two children and fronting some of the UK's biggest radio programmes.

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Timecodes:
00:00 Introduction: Why Maternity Leave Is a Lie
01:01 What Is Maternity Service? The Book Explained
01:31 Six Rounds of IVF and 21 Years Without a Diagnosis
02:01 Matrescence: How Your Identity Shifts When You Become a Mother
04:10 Can You Ever Really Prepare for Becoming a Mother?
05:03 Toxic Positivity in Motherhood
06:30 Reframing Motherhood as a Tour of Duty
07:35 The Physical Reality: Healing a Broken Body After Birth
08:57 C-Sections, Too Posh to Push, and the Stigma of Stomach Surgery
09:50 What Is a Hypertonic Pelvic Floor? What No One Tells You
11:25 The Loneliness of New Motherhood Nobody Talks About
12:22 Identity Loss: Your Maternity Uniform and the Flattening of Self
14:01 IVF, Bruising, and the Hidden Uniform of Fertility Treatment
16:29 Delayed Gratification: The Survival Skill Every Mother Needs
18:20 Perimenopause, Grief, and the Pressure to Have It All
21:23 Maternity Discrimination and the Psychology of Being Replaced
23:30 Is Boredom on Maternity Leave Normal? Yes, and Here's Why
24:40 Writing a Letter to Your Pre-Baby Self
26:35 Ready to Talk: Emma's New BBC Podcast on Women's Interior Lives
30:50 The Best Books on Motherhood Emma Recommends
39:00 Living With Endometriosis: The Diagnosis That Took 21 Years
42:20 Endometriosis and IVF: When Getting Pregnant Becomes a Crisis
49:30 Emma's Tip for Feeling Well Enough: The Power of Music

Episodes of Ready to Talk with Emma Barnett are available every Friday on BBC Sounds.
Buy Emma’s book Maternity Service - out in paperback March 12th
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