My guest is Laura Mathias, the communications manager, campaigner and alopecia awareness advocate. Laura started losing her hair in her early teens and she admits that, as a result, she stopped leaving the house. As she describes it, ‘I completely withdrew and just gave up.’  On Instagram where she’s @relightalopecia, Laura has shared her journey with alopecia because that diagnosis in her early teens led to issues with self-esteem and self-expression. A wig-wearer for years, lockdown changed that when we were all working from home and had the option to turn our cameras off and this was a huge learning experience for her and it’s these learnings she shares in this episode. To join the closed Facebook group for the podcast click here >> The Emma Guns Show Forum. To follow me on social media >> Twitter | Instagram. Watch clips from the podcast >> Youtube | The Emma Guns Show Sign up for my newsletter here >> Newsletter. 
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Laura Mathias | Alopecia, Self-Acceptance and Not Caring What Other People Think.

If you're in the mood for a deep and meaningful then this is the podcast for you.  Every week, broadcaster and journalist Emma Gunavardhana has an intimate conversation with her guest about the risks they've taken, struggles they've had to overcome, successes they are proud of and much more before they tell us about a time when they were wrong, and what they learned from it. Watch clips from the show on Youtube The Emma Guns Show Follow Emma on Instagram @emmaguns Join the podcast's Facebook group The Emma Guns Show | The Forum Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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This episode was originally published in April 2023. Dr Sam Bunting has been a familiar face on the beauty scene for some time. A cosmetic dermatologist who now has her own skincare line Dr Sam’s, Sam wanted to bridge the gap between medical dermatology and beauty. But as one of my go-to skincare experts, in my role as a beauty journalist, I’ve also learned that Sam understands the emotional stress of ‘bad skin’. We both suffered terribly from teenage acne and know all too well how much it can impact confidence and one’s sense of self. It’s these conversations I’ve had with Sam over the years that have led to broader, more deep and meaningful conversations about life, love and much more, which is why I was curious to hear the life lessons she’s learned, the challenges she’s had to overcome and how, as someone who can feel as though the world gets a little too much at times, she copes with the lows as well as the highs. Dr Sam’s is available now. To join the Facebook group for the podcast click here >> The Emma Guns Show Forum. To follow me on social media >> Twitter | Instagram. Watch clips from the podcast >> Youtube | The Emma Guns Show Sign up for my newsletter here >> Newsletter. Subscribe now. 
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From the Vault | Dr Sam Bunting on the power and beauty of mental health.

It's a news update and a request for your help in this Bullet Points episode. To join the Facebook group for the podcast click here >> The Emma Guns Show Forum. To follow me on social media >> Twitter | Instagram. Watch clips from the podcast >> Youtube | The Emma Guns Show Sign up for my newsletter here >> Newsletter. Subscribe now. 
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Bullet Points | Johann's take on Ozempic, back to beauty and your questions...

This episode was first published in February 2022. My guest on this episode of the podcast is Ruby Wax. She is a writer, comedian, mental health campaigner and author and someone whose interviews over the years inspired me so it’s quite something to be interviewing her for this podcast… Ruby joins me in this episode to talk about her latest book And Now For The Good News - the much-needed tonic for our frazzled world. If you feel utterly distraught at the constant negative news cycle - the climate crisis, increasing costs of living, injustice, Covid and, as this episode goes live, the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, then you may have stopped searching for the light of hope on the horizon. You may just assume that there’s only bad news out there in the world to be shared. Here’s the thing, if all we ever expect is bad news. If we assume that there is only bad news that chain reaction can make us feel hopeless, and helpless and fall into that space where we wake up in the morning and think ‘what’s the point?’  As someone whose particular shape and shade of depression took this form, a chronic apathy that eventually suffocated everything, I see this bad news cycle as something that can trigger the same feelings - even in the most hopeful of souls. Perhaps Ruby thought this too, which is why she went on a global search to find the good search.  If you don’t know the light is there, you won’t know to see it. And so Ruby compiled all her findings into the book so we can all see there is hope and to equip us with a positive approach for a brighter world and, most importantly, for a better collective mental wellbeing. Ruby has been open about her own mental health issues over the years, something that was a source of great comfort to me at a time when I needed it, so during our conversation, I also quizzed her about how she emerged from her own struggles, the coping mechanisms she put in place and what she learned from a masters degree in cognitive-based therapy from Oxford University. I came away from the conversation feeling so inspired, not least because speaking to Ruby it was a reminder to always be curious about the world around you rather than scared of it, how vulnerability can immediately neutralise tension and how, though it might feel hard sometimes, it’s important to look for and follow the light, because it is there. To join the Facebook group for the podcast click here >> The Emma Guns Show Forum. To follow me on social media >> Twitter | Instagram. Watch clips from the podcast >> Youtube | The Emma Guns Show Sign up for my newsletter here >> Newsletter. Subscribe now. 
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From the Vault | Ruby Wax on mental health journeys, finding the good in the world and why you should always be hopeful.

Weight loss drugs are a hot topic, but are they a magic pill or is there a dark side to drugs such as Ozempic? Johann Hari has spent years investigating the genesis of the drug, how it works, as well as the benefits and the risks, plus he is also taking it. In this episode, we discuss how impactful these drugs could be on society, the risks that go hand-in-hand with taking them and why we've been conditioned to eat the kinds of food that could make us need these drugs in the first place. Johann's book Magic Pill is out now. To join the Facebook group for the podcast click here >> The Emma Guns Show Forum. To follow me on social media >> Twitter | Instagram. Watch clips from the podcast >> Youtube | The Emma Guns Show Sign up for my newsletter here >> Newsletter. Subscribe now. 
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Johann Hari | What you REALLY need to know about Ozempic.

You can't have failed to notice the conversation around weight loss drugs such as Ozempic but are they a wonder drug or should we approach them with extreme caution? Johann Hari joins me in an upcoming episode to talk about the years of extensive research he's done into this drug, as well as taking it himself, and what we need to know about this magic pill. To join the Facebook group for the podcast click here >> The Emma Guns Show Forum. To follow me on social media >> Twitter | Instagram. Watch clips from the podcast >> Youtube | The Emma Guns Show Sign up for my newsletter here >> Newsletter. Subscribe now. 
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Laura Mathias | Alopecia, Self-Acceptance and Not Caring What Other People Think.

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