The Prescription Strength Podcast

When you know what you “should” do but still can’t make yourself do it, it’s easy to assume you’re the problem.

In this episode, I’m joined by GP and Chimp Management director  Dr Sarah Caddy to break down procrastination and perfectionism using the Chimp Model from Professor Steve Peters.

We explore why capable, intelligent people still get stuck, how perfectionism quietly fuels avoidance, and why motivation is the least reliable part of the process.

This is a practical conversation about what’s actually going on in your brain when you delay, overthink, or wait for the “right time” — and how to start working with it instead of fighting it.

We cover:

• why procrastination isn’t laziness

• how perfectionism drives inaction

• the role of habits, beliefs and self-image

• why motivation fades (and what matters more)

• making a plan that works on your worst day

• how comparison and marketing hijack your thinking

• simple ways to get unstuck and take action

Links:

• The Chimp Paradox

• A Path Through the Jungle

• Chimp Management

If you’ve ever thought “I know what to do, I just can’t make myself do it,” this will make uncomfortable amounts of sense.

Patients aren’t just turning up with symptoms anymore — they’re turning up with diagnoses, treatment plans, and a feed full of advice.

In this episode, I’m joined by Deb Cohen — former BMJ investigative journalist and co-author of Bad Influence — to unpack how the internet has reshaped health information, trust, and the doctor–patient relationship.

We talk about the rise of “Dr TikTok,” why algorithms feel like they know you better than you know yourself, and how perfectly reasonable curiosity can turn into confusion, anxiety, and unnecessary interventions.

This isn’t about blaming people for getting it wrong. It’s about understanding the system we’re all now navigating.

Deb’s book:

Bad Influence: How the Internet Has Hijacked Our Health

Available in hardback and audiobook

Time stamps:

00:00 Podcast Welcome

01:21 Debs Journalism Journey

02:22 Pandemic Shift to Social

03:08 Dr TikTok Moment

04:18 Fertility Test Wakeup

05:10 Facebook to TikTok Era

07:40 Algorithms and Trust

12:00 Self Diagnosis Loops

16:25 NHS Distrust and Fixes

19:01 Borrowed Legitimacy

21:26 Stories vs Evidence

23:30 US Model Goes Global

26:09 Influencers Selling Drugs

28:03 Doctor Influencer Ethics

28:45 IV Drips and Red Flags

31:58 Spotting Conflicts and Hype

35:57 Tech Bro Health Mindset

37:42 Wearables Scans and Cascades

41:51 Private Tests NHS Fallout

43:41 NHS Gaps and Private Clinics

46:44 AI Regulation and Hope

49:51 Using the Internet Wisely

51:20 Book Wrap Up and Thanks

What happens when cancer treatment finishes, but nobody really tells you what comes next?

In this episode, I’m joined by Sarah Newman, a cancer and exercise specialist and founder of Get Me Back. Sarah shares her own story of being diagnosed with cervical cancer during pregnancy, going through intensive treatment, and then facing the part that often gets far less attention: life afterwards.

We talk about the shock of deconditioning, the fear of doing damage, outdated advice about lifting weights, and why rest alone is not enough when it comes to rebuilding after cancer. Sarah also explains how strength training, patience and the right support can help people reconnect with their bodies and regain confidence after treatment.

This is an important conversation for anyone recovering from cancer, supporting someone who is, or working with patients who feel a bit abandoned once treatment ends.

Sarah’s work: Get Me Back

Website: https://www.getmeback.uk

If you enjoyed this episode, please follow, rate and share the podcast.

If you want, I can also give you 5 alternative title options that are slightly punchier, sadder, or more hopeful depending on the angle you want.

You’ve finished cancer treatment.

Now what?

Most people default to being cautious — and for good reason. But when caution turns into inactivity, it quietly works against you.

In this episode:

• Why fear and “being careful” can stall recovery

• What inactivity does to muscle, fitness and long-term health

• The evidence that exercise improves survival after cancer

• How to rebuild safely with simple, structured movement

The shift:

Rest helped you survive.

Now it’s time to rebuild.

• Start where you are — not where you were

• Build confidence through small, repeatable steps

• Aim for:

  • Regular walking

  • 2 strength sessions per week

• Fear will show up — that doesn’t mean you’re causing harm

Key Takeaways

In this episode, I’m joined by dietitian Victoria Schonwald to explore the link between eating disorders, malnutrition and brain function.

We discuss why restrictive eating doesn’t just affect the body—it changes the brain. And why, for many people, recovery isn’t about thinking differently first, but eating differently.

We cover:

• How malnutrition affects mood, anxiety and thinking patterns

• Why therapy alone can fall short without adequate nutrition

• The rise of disordered eating in midlife women

• The unintended consequences of weight loss injections

• Orthorexia and the growing fear of “unhealthy” food

• Why recovery is possible at any age

This is a practical, compassionate conversation about food, fear, and why the brain needs fuel to heal.

Eating disorders don’t just affect teenagers—and they don’t always go away.

In this episode, Rachel shares her experience of living with an eating disorder from adolescence into midlife, including how menopause and modern weight-loss culture triggered a relapse.

We talk about the difference between eating disorders and disordered eating, why many people don’t get help early enough, and what recovery really looks like in real life.

If your relationship with food has ever felt complicated, this will resonate.

We cover:

• Eating disorders in midlife

• Relapse and menopause

• Diet culture and workplace conversations

• Getting help (and barriers to it)

• What recovery actually looks like

What if anxiety isn’t just something that happens to you — but something you unknowingly keep feeding?

In this episode, I’m joined by psychotherapist and bestselling author Owen O’Kane to talk about his book Addicted to Anxiety and why anxiety can become so hard to break free from.

We explore the habits that feel helpful in the moment — Googling symptoms, checking, avoiding, seeking reassurance — and why they often make anxiety worse over time.

We also discuss why anxious thoughts aren’t facts, how anxiety shows up in the body, and why learning to tolerate uncertainty is often the turning point.

In this episode we cover:

• Why many people don’t realise how much anxiety is driving their behaviour

• How reassurance, checking and avoidance reinforce anxiety

• Why thoughts are not the problem — but what we do next is

• The link between anxiety and physical symptoms

• Why the body needs to be addressed, not just the mind

• How walking and simple regulation strategies can help

• Why anxiety is often learned — and can be unlearned

• What it actually looks like to recover

If you’ve ever found yourself stuck in overthinking, symptom-Googling or needing constant reassurance, this episode will give you a very different way to understand anxiety — and a way forward.

Why Most People Over 50 End Up in A&E

Falls are one of the most overlooked threats to health and independence as we age—and they’re far more common (and serious) than most people realise.

In this Pocket Prescription episode, I explain why falls—not heart attacks—are one of the leading reasons people over 50 end up in A&E, and what actually happens after that fall that makes the difference between recovery and decline.

I cover:

• Why falls are so dangerous (beyond just fractures)

• The reality of hip fractures and loss of independence

• The “long lie” and why being unable to get up can be life-threatening

• The hospitalisation cascade: muscle loss, infections, and loss of confidence

• Why falls risk increases with age (strength, balance, and sensory changes)

• The surprising role of hearing loss in falls risk

• Common hazards at home that are often missed

Most importantly, this episode focuses on what you can actually do:

• How strength training reduces falls risk

• Simple ways to improve balance at home

• Why practising getting up off the floor matters

• Practical changes to make your home safer

• How to plan for a worst-case scenario

Falls are not just “bad luck” or clumsiness—they are predictable and, importantly, preventable.

If you want to stay independent, this is something worth paying attention to.

Links & resources:

• Download my free Start Strength Safely plan

• Join my weekly newsletter

• Age UK home safety checklist (falls prevention)

You can also listen to my full conversation with A&E consultant Professor Rob Galloway on how to stay out of hospital.

Emergency medicine consultant Professor Rob Galloway joins me to talk about what is really happening inside A&E departments across the NHS.

This conversation was prompted by an article Rob wrote describing the current pressures in emergency care — corridor care, ambulance delays, and the growing mismatch between what the NHS was originally designed to treat and the illnesses now filling hospitals.

We discuss why the system is struggling, the consequences for patients and staff, and why the solution isn’t simply more money but a fundamental rethink of prevention, primary care and how demand is managed.

Rob also shares the personal story behind his charity Rare People, which funds research into treatments for rare diseases following his daughter’s diagnosis with a rare genetic condition.

• Corridor care and the normalisation of unsafe conditions

• Ambulance delays and hidden system failures

• Why the NHS model struggles with chronic disease

• Risk in general practice and emergency medicine

• Defensive medicine and increasing investigation

• Lifestyle illness and demand on emergency services

• Falls, strength and long-term health

• Rare disease research and Rob’s charity Rare People

Rare People charity:

https://rarepeople.org

Download my FREE 3 day plan :Start Strength training Safely https://www.prescriptionstrength.co.uk/3-day-strength-start/Get my Weekly Newsletter here https://bit.ly/3LkdrLGIn this video I outline the reasons that get in the way for most people when it comes to starting strength training. Don't let that be you.