TELUS Talks with Tamara Taggart

With irregular periods, fatigue, acne, anxiety and weight changes, polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS) can affect nearly every part of the body. These symptoms are often dismissed or treated separately instead of connected back to a hormonal condition. UBC endocrinologist and expert Jerilynn Prior explains what's actually happening in a body with PMOS and why the condition is so misunderstood.

Drinking feels harmless for many of us. For others, alcohol is also a powerful substance that changes the way the brain processes reward and emotion. Dr. Charles Knowles says a drinking habit that starts as a way to relax or connect with others can gradually become much harder to manage. We discuss the neuroscience of alcohol, why some people are more vulnerable to dependence and how genetics influence our relationship with drinking. Charles also shares insights from his own recovery and why understanding alcohol may help reduce shame and stigma.

Stress, anxiety and burnout are often treated as personal problems to fix. But psychiatrist Joanna Cheek says many mental health symptoms may be reasonable responses to the world around us. As rates of anxiety, depression and emotional exhaustion rise, Joanna says we need to look beyond the individual and examine the systems shaping our lives. We discuss why so many people feel overwhelmed, how mental health changes when we put it in context and why understanding our "alarms" might help us better understand our emotions.

AI is making its way into our emotional relationships. Writer and digital anthropologist Caia Hagel agreed to bond with an experimental AI companion designed to learn her, mirror her and respond to her emotions. What began as an experiment quickly became something more personal. We discuss why more people are turning to AI for connection and why everyone should get familiar with what these new technologies have to offer.

Hope is about finding a way forward, even when life feels uncertain. Psychology and education behaviorist expert Robyne Hanley-Dafoe explains how hope is a skill we can build. We discuss why so many people feel low on hope right now and how that impacts our mental health. Robyne shares practical ways to reconnect with hope in our everyday life and how we can share that positivity with others.

When you fall asleep, your brain gets to work. Dreams are a tool for your mind to process emotions, store memories and make sense of your day. But what happens when we don't dream enough? Journalist Karen van Kampen says we're not just sleep-deprived, we're dream-deprived.

Behind every fertility journey is a story of persistence, uncertainty and emotional resilience. Journalist Kathryn Blaze Baum shares her personal experience through miscarriage and fertility treatment, alongside deep reporting on the growing fertility industry. We discuss how IVF works and the emotional and physical toll it can take.

If you keep repeating the same patterns, it's probably more than a willpower issue. Psychiatrist Suzan Song says we get often stuck in narratives formed by our family, culture and life experience. These patterns can show up in our relationships and how we see ourselves. We explore why it's so hard to break these emotional cycles and how we can rewrite our narratives by defining what we really want out of life.

A hysterectomy is often presented as a clear solution to ongoing health issues. But patients aren't always given the full picture. Andréa Becker is a medical sociologist and she has explored how this common surgery became so widely used. While a hysterectomy can be positively life-changing for some, Andréa says others do not have the same access to the surgery. We discuss what can get overlooked in medical conversations, how inequalities can shape care and what informed consent should involve.