The Places That Scare Us

For the final episode of this first season of The Places That Scare Us, I’m joined by Fiona Barrows - for a conversation in which we delve into how we’re feeling in amidst such uncertain times, what I learned in making this podcast, and figuring it out as we go.

In this episode I talk to Lisa Stewart about her experience of living with ME, also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. There is no known cause, diagnosis, or cure for ME, and it is an incredibly poorly understood illness. As a result, a lot of people who suffer from ME don’t get the support they need to navigate an experience that Lisa describes as a ‘half life’. As always, there are no easy answers. This is very much an episode on being the middle of what is, what it looks like to figure things out in your own way, in your own time.

In this episode, I talk to Anna Considine, about her experience of psychosis, as well as the importance of asking for help. Based in Northampton, Anna is photographer and copywriter, and she helps creative brands and businesses to tell their story online. I really appreciate Anna’s openness with sharing her experiences of dealing with a mental illness, and I hope you do too :)

You may know the lovely Jo McCarthy as Jo at Firain, who joined me to talk about her recent decision to close her online shop and transition to becoming a creative business coach and cheerleader. Jo and I covered quite a few different things in this episode, including Jo’s thoughts on managing your time when you’re self-employed, how not to get distracted by your phone, and some of the most common challenges she sees creatives facing in the online world.

Giulia Mazzola joins me for a conversation in which she shared her story of losing her corporate identity, rediscovering her love of the written word, and how learning to listen to your inner voice can sometimes take much longer than we might expect!

We also talk about how we can become comfortable with being in the process of figuring things out. I also share some of my own experiences in this conversation of being lost and having to learn to be okay with that.

In this episode, I talk to Jo Becker, self-employed Disability & Inclusion Specialist, and small business coach. We talk about Jo's experiences of managing her own disability, taking time to process change, and making the most out of the circumstances you find yourself in. Jo exudes energy and positivity, and I hope you come away from this episode feeling as inspired as I did!

The first interview of The Places That Scare Us features the lovely Sophie Caldecott. Sophie is a multi-passionate writer, empathy-lover, and optimist (by choice), who lives in a cosy cottage on the edge of the moor in the South-West of England with her husband and daughters. We talk about learning to express our own needs, Sophie’s relationship with writing, creativity, and as a mother, as well as getting in touch with our younger selves.

I chat with creative business mentor and brand strategist, Fiona Barrows, about following our curiosity, fitting in and standing out, and feeling the many feelings along the way. Fiona was incredibly generous in sharing her experiences, and I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did.

(please note, there are a couple of instances of adult language)