Happy Place

Latest Episodes:

Patric Gagne: Sociopaths, compulsive behaviours, and theft May 20, 2024

Show notes

Sociopathy should be understood as a spectrum disorder. It’s a disorder that affects roughly 5% of the population – similar to the number of people who have depression or anxiety. Patric Gagne is a sociopath.

In this chat with Fearne, Patric explains the difference between a psychopath and a sociopath. Sociopaths have access to inherent emotions like sadness and happiness, but struggle with learned social emotions like remorse, guilt, empathy, and love. There’s also a huge feeling of apathy for Patric, which in the past led her to anti-social behaviours like stealing cars and breaking into houses.

Fearne also points out the benefits of not caring what others think of you; while she people pleases a lot, she can see the freedom in having a lack of a filter. They chat about how to function in a relationship when you have to communicate any kind of mental disorder or illness too.

Patric’s memoir, Sociopath, is this month’s Happy Place Book Club read. Come and be part of the Book Club discussions on Instagram @happyplacebookclub.

Sociopath is out now.

Listen to Book Club Meets: Jo Cheetham

Listen to Book Club Meets: Jennie Godfrey

Thanks to Bluebird (an imprint of Pan Macmillan) for the Sociopath audiobook extract.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ashleigh: PTSD, isolation, and self-acceptance May 17, 2024

Show notes

Nobody’s worse off than you; everyone just experiences things differently. This is what 27 year old Ashleigh has come to understand about her own trauma. Previously, she minimised her own experiences, thinking it can’t be that bad, but learnt that until she acknowledged her own pain she couldn’t move forward.

In this chat with Fearne, Ashleigh explains how PTSD led her to develop facial tics and a stammer, isolating her personally and professionally. They talk about how to cope when those around you don’t understand what you’re going through, plus, how the Prince’s Trust have given her game-changing support to start her own business helping others with mental health struggles.

Fearne is a Goodwill Ambassador for Mental Health and Wellbeing for The Prince’s Trust. They help support young people aged 11-30, and believe that every single young person should have the chance to succeed, no matter their background, or their personal challenges. They offer support into education, training, and jobs; that’s exactly what they did for Ashleigh.

As well as catching up on Ashleigh’s progress, Fearne has a very special surprise for her at the end of the episode...

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What’s REALLY going on in your mind? May 15, 2024

Show notes

How’s your mental health doing today? Do you ever wish people understood what was actually going on in your mind?

As part of Mental Health Awareness Week, Fearne looks back at some of the conversations she’s had on Happy Place that shine a light on particular mental health conditions.

There’s OCD with Tuppence Middleton, cyclothymia with Matt Edmondson, and psychosis with David Harewood. Plus, neuroscientist TJ Power chats about how to increase serotonin levels, and sleep physiologist Stephanie Romiszewski talks through how to combat insomnia.

Hopefully you’ll find a moment’s solace from connecting over stories you might recognise if you have any of these mental health conditions yourself, and if you don’t... you may well know someone who does...

CONTENT WARNING: as David recalls racist abuse, this episode contains offensive and distressing language.

Watch Stephanie Romiszewski

Listen to Tuppence Middleton

Listen to Matt Edmondson

Listen to David Harewood

Listen to TJ Power

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Zayn: Introversion, fatherhood, and VHS tapes May 13, 2024

Show notes

It can be tiring being anything but yourself. Musician Zayn has learnt to lean into what really makes him content.

In this chat with Fearne, Zayn talks through the quiet lifestyle he loves in Pennsylvania: painting, being outdoors, spending time with his daughter, and staying off his phone. He also explains how fatherhood has changed him, whether he's the parent he thought he would be, and what impact the new depths of emotion he feels has had on his music.

They chat about how to find the balance between sharing enough information with others to really connect on a deep level, while keeping some things private just for you. Plus, Zayn gives Fearne a very thoughtful gift...

Zayn’s new album, ROOM UNDER THE STAIRS is out now.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rebel Wilson: Emotional eating, virginity, and popularity May 06, 2024

Show notes

Do you turn to food for comfort? Actor Rebel Wilson spent a lifetime using food to numb herself from difficult emotions.

In this chat with Fearne, Rebel shares why she felt safe using her body as a barrier to true intimacy, not having sex until she was 35. Knowing that she was medically obese, Rebel made 2020 her ‘year of health’, but it was working through her trauma that made the most difference, not a specific diet or exercise plan.

Fearne also shares the realities of her bulimia, including the secrecy and isolation that can come with shame.

Rebel talks about feeling like a ‘loser’ at school and making a concerted effort to become popular through speaking to five new people each day, and being a part of theatre and sports teams for connection.

Plus, Rebel explains why it felt so important to speak her truth about what happened on certain sets in her memoir...

Rebel’s book, Rebel Rising, is out now.

Listen to How To Laugh When You’ve Been To Hell And Back

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Book Club Meets: Career pivots, true crime, and 70s nostalgia, with Jennie Godfrey May 03, 2024

Show notes

Would you choose uncertainty over unhappiness? Happy Place Book Club novel, The List of Suspicious Things, is the first book Jennie Godfrey has written. She was working in a corporate job before she had a moment of clarity and quit her job with no plan B to become a writer.

In this chat with Fearne, Jennie explains why, having suffered with anxiety, she took control and chose an uncertain future over an unhappy present, with a little help from an episode of Happy Place...!

The List of Suspicious Things centres around the murders of the Yorkshire Ripper. It sounds like a grim subject, but this story – told through the eyes of a young teenage girl – is incredibly warm and charming. Jennie also reveals her family’s own connection to Peter Sutcliffe, the man known at the time as the Yorkshire Ripper.

Plus, you’ve been sending your voice notes, reminiscing about the teenage culture of the 1970s.

Join the Happy Place Book Club on Instagram @happyplacebookclub – DM your messages and voicenotes about May’s read, Sociopath, to have your thoughts shared on the podcast!

...and don’t worry, there are no plot spoilers in this episode!

Listen to Daisy May Cooper's episode.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rahul Jandial: Lucid dreaming, divergent thinking, and erotic thoughts Apr 29, 2024

Show notes

What are you dreams trying to tell you about yourself? Neurosurgeon Rahul Jandial feels dreaming is a vital part of being human.

In this chat with Fearne, Rahul explains that while our waking brain is generally ruled by the logical executive network... the dreaming brain liberates creative and divergent thinking. We dream, he says, to keep our minds open so they’re able to adapt if our world suddenly changes.

They also talk about the role dreams play as our ‘nocturnal therapists’. Dreams allow us a safe space to rehearse real life scenarios we might be anxious or confused about.

Sometimes our dreams can reflect what’s happening in our waking life, but what if what you’re experiencing in your dream life is flagging something that you haven’t even recognised about yourself yet? Rahul talks about how to use your dreams as a psychological thermometer.

Rahul’s book, This Is Why You Dream, is out now.

Listen back to Professor David Nutt’s episode about psychedelics

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How to laugh when you’ve been to hell and back Apr 26, 2024

Show notes

‘If you don’t laugh, you’ll cry’, as the saying goes. These heightened emotions often sit very close to each other, and there’s a split second where we can decide whether to despair, or to see the funny side of a situation.

Today, Fearne revisits Happy Place conversations that highlight the crossroads where people have decided to cope with shitty incidents by laughing at them, or at themselves.

Amongst other guests, Adele Roberts tells the absurd story of what happened to her stoma the night before running the London Marathon, and Dawn French chats about owning the moments you were a bit of a twat.

...and for a really good laugh, there are some behind the scenes outtakes as Fearne attempted to record some calming – and unexpectedly erotic – sleepy stories for the Happy Place app...

Listen to Fats Timbo’s episode

Listen to Adele Roberts’ episode

Listen to Dawn French’s episode

Listen to Vicky Pattison’s episode

Download the Happy Place app

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Norah Jones: Owning accomplishments, repairing relationships, and surfing Apr 22, 2024

Show notes

When was the last time you enjoyed some silence? Musician Norah Jones appreciates the importance of silence – it allows us to tune into what our minds are trying to tell us.

In this chat with Fearne, Norah explains that the rare moments of quiet are when creativity flows most freely. They talk about the feeling of being embarrassed by your work when you’re young, but that it’s important to be ever evolving and honing your craft just by getting on and doing it.

Norah’s new album, Visions, is out now.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Where Are You Going? Cold water, childhood friends, and fishing Apr 17, 2024

Show notes

How often do you connect with strangers? There’s something magical about those fleeting moments of intimacy and connection.

Today, Fearne introduces an episode of Where Are You Going, a podcast that sees host Catherine Carr chatting to strangers and asking a simple question: “where are you going?” The stories people end up sharing with her go to all sorts of unexpected places – some are funny or loving, and others moving or shocking.

In this episode, Catherine meets women who’ve been cold water swimming, and a group of childhood friends who’ve found solace and connection in fishing.

New episodes of Where Are You Going? are released every Tuesday and Friday. You can listen back to over 100 episodes wherever you’re listening to this right now.

Follow Where Are You Going? on Instagram at @whereareyougoingpodcast and get in touch with Catherine on X @catherineecarr.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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