Can anyone light up a room like Stacey Solomon? She's brought joy to millions by sharing her positivity and beautiful family on her incredibly popular Instagram account. So it might be a surprise to many that she, like a lot of us, has had her own battles with her mental health. Stacey joins Bryony just after a recording of Loose Women to discuss why she's come to terms with her anxiety, the lingering guilt she feels after postnatal depression, and how she uses crafting as meditation. Plus, she and Bryony celebrate Stacey's recent move into the now insta-famous Pickle Cottage.

Read Bryony's columns: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/bryony-gordon/ |

For 30 days' free access to The Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/madworld |

Follow Bryony on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bryonygordon/ |

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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

Winning the Booker Prize is a serious coup for any writer, but for author Douglas Stuart the achievement is personal as well as professional: successfully channeling childhood trauma into art. The result is his debut novel, Shuggie Bain, which follows the childhood of a young boy, Shuggie, and his alcoholic mother, Agnes, and was loosely based on Douglas' own life growing up in Glasgow. Douglas joins Bryony from his home in New York to discuss why representation drives his desire to write, and to explain why sometimes just getting by is the bravest thing you can do. Plus he gives listeners a cheeky glimpse into the subject of his next book.

Read Bryony's columns: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/bryony-gordon/ |

For 30 days' free access to The Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/madworld |

Follow Bryony on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bryonygordon/ |

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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

In a sea of beauty hacks, home inspo and brunch snaps, Bryony Gordon's first guest of this new series of Mad World might seem an unlikely Instagram star. But artist Charlie Mackesy’s poignant and heartfelt illustrations have taken the platform by storm - and have earned him over a million followers.

His debut book, The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse, is billed as a vehicle for ‘hope in uncertain times’, and after a year of true uncertainty, he tells The Telegraph's Bryony Gordon that giving that glimmer of hope to his readers is worth more than any plaudits.

Plus Charlie talks about how he’s struggling to feel connected to others, why he sees drawing as a form of therapy, and how grief for a lost friend reared its head in an unusual form as a teenager. And if the conversation doesn't leave you feeling just that little bit calmer, the soothing sounds of nature outside Charlie's barn certainly will.

Read Bryony's columns: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/bryony-gordon/ |

For 30 days' free access to The Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/madworld |

Follow Bryony on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bryonygordon/ |

The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse, by Charlie Mackesy: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/111/1117718/the-boy--the-horse--the-fox-and-the-mole/9781529105100.html |

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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

Jane Gordon is a celebrated journalist and author, and she's also... Bryony's mum. 

She talks to Bryony about surviving lockdown on her own, why life drawing keeps her feeling young and the importance of making time to call your loved ones. And in proof that all parents are as embarrassing as each other, she manages to fit in a fair bit of that too.

Jane Gordon - The day I realised I was living a lie - and wasn't immune to the ageing process: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/day-realised-living-lie-wasnt-immune-ageing-process/

‘How Not To Get Old: One Woman's Quest to Take Control of the Ageing Process’ by Jane Gordon is out now (Trapeze, £16.99 in hardback; also available in audio and ebook)

Follow Jane on Instagram: @janegordon5100

Watch Bryony in 'Conspiracy theories, panic buying and scapegoats: What coronavirus tells us about human behaviour': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8KJlsVihI4&feature=emb_logo 

Check out the Telegraph's You Are Not Alone page for stories of support, optimism and social connectivity during the pandemic: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/you-are-not-alone/ 

We're giving all of the wonderful staff on the NHS a free, six-month digital subscription to the Telegraph. Just email [email protected] from your NHS email address. 

For everyone else, get 30 days' free: www.telegraph.co.uk/madworld

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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

Getting to the end of some days in lockdown can feel like an Olympic effort, even for gold medallist Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill. She tells Bryony why the lockdown could help more people realise that even the smallest forms of exercise still count, why it's okay to live in lycra, and how even she struggles to get out of bed sometimes. 

Jessica's fitness app, @wearejennis, also posts short workouts on their Instagram page. 

Watch Bryony in Conspiracy theories, panic buying and scapegoats: what coronavirus tells us about human behaviour here. 

Check out the Telegraph's You Are Not Alone page for stories of support, optimism and social connectivity during the pandemic.

We're giving all of the wonderful staff on the NHS a free, six-month digital subscription to the Telegraph. Just email [email protected] from your NHS email address. 

For everyone else, get 30 days' free here.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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

Therapist Donna Lancaster helps people come to terms with loss. She tells Bryony why it's okay to be mourning your old way of life and why she's running grief workshops to help people cope. Donna shares some of those tips with us, but says there's one battle she's yet to conquer - not eating a packet of Rolos in one sitting.

For information about Donna's grief events, follow @thebridgeretreat on Instagram.

If you have Amazon Prime, you can watch the documentary about the Bridge Retreat that Donna mentions by searching for 'Love(d)'.

Check out the Telegraph's You Are Not Alone page for stories of support, optimism and social connectivity during the pandemic.

We're giving all of the wonderful staff on the NHS a free, six-month digital subscription to the Telegraph. Just email [email protected] from your NHS email address. 

For everyone else, get 30 days' free here.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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

Actress Daisy May Cooper is taking the time to reflect on a busy year. After the third series of her hit show, This Country recently came to an end, she found herself facing the loss of a close friend. She tells Bryony why lockdown has brought her some much needed time to grieve.

Plus, Daisy opens up about how growing up in poverty pushed her towards success, and why she'll be celebrating when nurseries reopen. 

To find out more or seek help around hoarding:  https://www.helpforhoarders.co.uk/

Check out the Telegraph's You Are Not Alone page for stories of support, optimism and social connectivity during the pandemic: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/you-are-not-alone/

We're giving all of the wonderful staff on the NHS a free, six-month digital subscription to the Telegraph. Just email [email protected] from your NHS email address. 

For everyone else, get 30 days' free: www.telegraph.co.uk/madworld

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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

Bake-off star, Nadiya Hussain is learning that it's okay not to be okay. But social isolation isn't always easy for those who suffer with anxiety, and Nadiya tells Bryony Gordon why she's struggling in lockdown. She opens up about the "hamster wheel" in her head, why she wishes she could live in the present and what she's most looking forward to at the end of it all.

Read more about Nadiya's relationship with anxiety: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/04/10/nadiya-hussain-battle-anxiety-coronavirus-crisis/ 

Get 30 days' free access to the Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/madworld

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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

Infection prevention nurse Natalie Mounter and mental health nurse Katy Lowe know what it's like to face a pandemic. 

In the first episode of this brand new mini-series of Mad World, they tell Bryony Gordon how working in Sierra Leone during the 2014 Ebola outbreak taught them the importance of team support, avoiding burnout and why they feel the burden of being 'superheroes'.

Read more from Bryony: https://bit.ly/2X6zXwj

Get 30 days' free access to the Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/madworld

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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

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