This week’s guest is Ruby Wax. A comedian, writer, and mental health advocate, who has wisdom to spare.

When she was younger, Ruby often felt lonely - like she didn’t fit in - and she turned to comedy. A reinvention that gave Ruby a taste for attention and led her to drama school, and eventually her own television show in which she met the biggest celebrities of the day.

After 25 years in television, Ruby reinvented herself once again. She studied mindfulness-based cognitive therapy at Oxford University. And she now works to remove the stigma around mental health. Not least in her book - I’m Not As Well As I Thought I Was - a very personal account of depression and the adventures she followed to find meaning in her life.

Related links:

Ruby’s website

Ruby’s books, including I’m Not As Well As I Thought I Was and A Mindfulness Guide For Survival

Ruby’s tour

When Ruby Wax Met (BBC series)

Frazzled Cafe

NHS Guide to Local Mental Health Services

Mind’s Guide to Crisis Services

Esther Perel (one of Ruby’s heroes)

The Body Keeps The Score by Bessel van der Kolk

Dr Dan Siegel

Sam Harris

Jon Kabat-Zinn on mindfulness

(02:14 ) Soft toy vs green juice
(04:22 ) Ruby’s book (I’m Not As Well As I Thought I Was)
(12:00 ) Depression, and coming off antidepressants
(13:38 ) EMDR, ECT, and other treatments
(17:19 ) De-stigmatising depression, while taking it seriously
(20:24 ) Psilocybin therapy
(22:41 ) Mindfulness and a 30-day silent retreat
(28:24 ) Ruby’s mindfulness practice
(37:36 ) The addict label and the victim mentality
(39:55 ) Ruby’s heroes, including Esther Perel, Bessel van der Kolk, Dan Siegel and Sam Harris
(42:17 ) Reinvention (and the addictiveness of fame)
(45:15 ) Ruby Wax Meets (Pamela Anderson, Carrie Fisher, Donald Trump & Liza Minnelli)
(48:42 ) Ruby’s tour (and playing all the parts in her book)
(51:26 ) Matt’s outro