Anxiety is the most common mental health condition facing women. One in three will be diagnosed in her lifetime. From overwhelming worry to spiralling thoughts, panic attacks to avoidance, anxiety can have a huge impact. But the good news is that we know how to treat it.

In part two of this three-part mental health series, Yumi Stynes chats to Julie Goodwin, of MasterChef fame, to understand how she got on top of her crippling anxiety. She also sits down with neuroscientist and clinical psychologist Professor Bronwyn Graham to talk anxiety-busting strategies.

The episode explores how hormones, sleep, lifestyle, and medication can impact anxiety and help you emerge stronger than ever.

Featured in this episode:

• Professor Bronwyn Graham, neuroscientist and clinical psychologist
• Julie Goodwin, cook and author

If you need someone to talk to, call:

• Lifeline on 13 11 14 
• Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467 
• Beyond Blue on 1300 22 46 36 
• Headspace on 1800 650 890 
• QLife on 1800 184 527 

What to listen to next:

Mental health: Overcoming depression

The price of perfectionism

How to give zero f*cks 

Perimenopause: lifting the brain fog

You can binge more episodes of Ladies, We Need to Talk on the ABC listen app (in Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. 

What to read next: 

How Turia Pitt's body image changed in motherhood

The dark side of being a perfectionist

Why genital herpes does not mean the end of your sex life

What happens to your sex life during perimenopause?

This mini-series will answer questions like: 

• How do women experience anxiety differently to men? 
• What does anxiety feel like? 
• What are the physical manifestations of anxiety? 
• What is the role of hormones in women’s anxiety? 
• How does sleep impact anxiety? 
• What can exercise and diet do for anxiety? 
• What are effective treatments for anxiety? 

This episode contains references to mental health, anxiety, panic disorder, panic attacks, generalised anxiety disorder, GAD, OCD, perfectionism, psychiatric facility, medication, suicide, family, parenting, work-life balance.