- 2 days ago
Scarlett Moffatt and Dr Alex George Interview
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PeopleTranscript
00:06what like the things that i wanted to ask you probably like one of the most important things
00:13is because i thought you could explain is what is mental health because i think sometimes people
00:18get a little bit confused when we talk about mental health so i just wanted you to try and
00:24like pinpoint exactly what it is well i think there's a lot of jargon isn't there around like
00:28people use different words it's well-being mental illness there's mental health there's self-care
00:33like what all these different things mean and and in a way it's very similar in a sense to physical
00:37health in the sense that you know physical health is a full spectrum it could be you know super fit
00:42you know you're able to run you're able to move you do the things you want to do each day
00:46all the way
00:46to very poor physical health having disease or heart problems or not being able to do the things you want
00:50to do and very similarly mental health really is this broad spectrum you know on one end which very
00:56few people are at i think is perfect mental health you're happy all the time and you know
01:00everything's rosy in reality that's kind of a an end of the spectrum that i think is is not realistic
01:05for almost all of us that's not real life but on the other end of the spectrum is is really
01:10really
01:10severe mental illness okay and and not many people are that end of that spectrum but there are people
01:15there and and i think what's important to understand about i think that spectrum is that
01:18your position is not fixed and that's a good thing and a bad thing in some ways but i think
01:23if you if you look at it that way it can be really helpful in tough times just because you're
01:27at the
01:27bottom end of spectrum things are tough at the moment doesn't mean you can't get up towards the
01:31top and you can be a lot happier and and also i think it's an element of if you are
01:34quite happy
01:35and you're you know there's good days there's bad days but you feel generally all right and you're
01:38at this end it's understanding why why are you in that place so is it because you know you're not
01:44drinking too much alcohol at the moment you're getting plenty of exercise you're sleeping all right
01:47you're doing things you enjoy you feel like a sense of purpose so understanding that is really
01:51powerful and that's where things like self-care well-being all these words come in really to kind
01:56of bring you as high as possible up to this end and i think that's an important thing because
02:01it's chucked around a lot i think people associate mental health as being mental illness and that's
02:06not true we all have mental health don't we you know if you're alive you have mental health
02:11yeah that's that's the thing because sometimes i get messages on my instagram and
02:16and and sometimes i'm i'm trying i'm struggling to put in words yeah sometimes i'm like you could
02:23just be having a bad day it doesn't mean that you know you've got a mental illness it could just
02:28be
02:28that you're actually just having a bad day
02:34alex i've got to talk about your book the book okay let's do it honestly because it's i've started
02:40like yesterday i was on the train and i started reading it and i feel like it's a good little
02:45tool kit thank you thank you i mean i put live whatever day really was all the things that i
02:50felt that i wish i knew at university or even at school like i i think one of the things
02:54you know
02:55we come out of school we learn like maths we learn you know uh history about different things but we
03:00don't really learn about how to look after ourselves so i i look back and thought what are all the
03:05things i think are important for people to understand you know from you know having a purpose in life
03:10to what things you need to do about sleep what are the things that actually matter when it comes
03:13sleep like how would you get a good night's sleep what are the things that doesn't help what helps
03:17nutrition one of the things you really need to know you know look at diet it's such a huge space
03:22and i think it'd be so confusing so i broke down all those areas into kind of seven areas i
03:27felt
03:27were important and you know live what every day is not about being perfect every day or
03:31you know that every day is rosy and sunny but it's understanding what are the things i need to do
03:36to give me the best chance to live a good day you know most days
03:39i honestly like i feel like already it's making me put a lot of stuff into perspective
03:45especially like the diet stuff because i think when we hear about a diet we instantly think oh
03:52you want to lose weight but it's not that because your gut health does really affect your mental health
03:57i know if i'm like i'm most anxious probably around the days that i drink alcohol and then eat
04:05take away yeah yeah i mean the word diet all diet means is what you eat you know that's all
04:10it means
04:11diet everyone has if you're if you are consuming food you have a diet so you know i think diet
04:15culture has become a thing of like always restrictive mindset around food now i think you know your
04:20bossy is a machine and it means fueling so if you look at food as a fuel and something that
04:26can be
04:26enjoyed as a fuel you can actually enjoy i think that's much more powerful and you know i've i've had
04:30my
04:30own difficulties i think with food over the years i certainly am someone who um through times that
04:35are very difficult maybe i'm struggling i eat more and i'm aware of that and it's something that i
04:39naturally some people restrict that they don't want to eat they feel they can't eat i eat more
04:43that's just how i am so it's useful to understand your tendencies with food but it's also important
04:49to not be so hard on yourselves you know i i you know i always thought i need to like
04:54look a certain
04:54way or whatever but now i'm much more about my you know function so i've got back into the gym
05:00recently i fell out of love with it for a little while i know i love your instagram posts by
05:04the
05:05way oh thank you very well just i mean the stuff that i put you know i post pictures of
05:09just just
05:09me topless not to like look at me i'm topless but particularly guys i think there's some pressure
05:14because we talk a lot about pressure on women but i don't know if we talk about as much about
05:17pressure on men i think there's so much pressure on guys look a certain way i'm like you know what
05:21i'm fit and healthy you know i can go swimming pool and swim and i can i can you know
05:25run not
05:26huge difference but i can do a bit of ramen stuff i'm generally okay in my fitness i'm happy with
05:31that it doesn't mean i need to look a certain way so you know as i said i'm getting back
05:35in the gym
05:35i'm enjoying it and i'm doing it because it makes me feel good and my how my brain makes me
05:41feel
05:41rather than my body i haven't weighed myself at all recently i don't weigh myself i'm aware that i
05:46probably lost a bit of weight because i'm just doing more activity but i'm not weighing
05:50myself why would i don't count calories i don't look at how many calories there are what to eat
05:55i just think you know what is good for my body to fuel me and i want to move each
05:59day and if i do
06:00those two things then i feel better about it and i think that's the point of the book is that
06:04it's not about living like you need to live like this way and this is the you know this is
06:07the key
06:08to happiness it's just you know look at things in a bit more of a common sense way rather than
06:12feeling oh god like this is the only way to feel good you know
06:19you mentioned there about men feeling a certain way and i do feel like men's mental health is
06:25something that we're starting to openly talk more about how would you encourage men to talk about
06:31their own mental health because i've got friends like my girlfriends we will sit and have a cup of tea
06:38and chat all day long about how we're feeling but my guy friends i do struggle to start them
06:45conversations i i think it's interesting because you know we talk there's a lot of talk about
06:51masculinity these days and i think toxic masculinity so the idea that you know when masculinity becomes
06:57too much and it's over overarching and it becomes well toxic as it says you know that that is a
07:03problem but it also is a problem you know i think in some ways if not in a society maybe
07:07not
07:08allowing or making the kind of forum for men to feel like they can really talk about how they feel
07:13like you know i i those i had a sit down chat um at number 10 last week with and
07:18we were talking about
07:19men's mental health and there was a gentleman there's a real expert psychologist and he was talking
07:23about how often it's just finding the right place for men to talk so you know you mentioned sitting
07:28around having a cup of tea or going for a coffee men maybe not as likely to do that but
07:31they might go to
07:32the workshop and do some some of that together or they might go you know might go for a hike
07:36or
07:36something or do something without doors or moving or whatever that gives them a space that they can
07:40kind of feel they can talk about it and i think so much of it is about just creating that
07:46environment
07:46and if you've got a mate you know if i've got a mate i think you know i'm worried about
07:49john
07:49what about john i'll probably say to him look let's let's go for a walk why don't we go to
07:54the park or
07:55you know go for a cycle or something when you stop for and have a coffee off with your cycle
07:58you kind of go well you know how are you doing you know i've picked up on a few things
08:02i just feel
08:02like you're not yourself do you want to talk about it it's not rocket science you don't have to worry
08:06about it too much just ask the question and often they go i don't know it's fine it's fine mate
08:10and
08:10then later on it might be a couple days later say look you know i mentioned it today are you
08:13sure
08:13everything's okay and it's that's the idea of the ask twice campaign you know it's all around giving
08:18people a couple of opportunities to talk to you and if they want to they will some people don't want
08:22to talk and there's only so much you can do for them but letting them know look if you do
08:27want to
08:28i'm here is the best thing you can do because they know do you know what that person really does
08:32care
08:32and i think the second thing is when you talk to people you know make sure that you know where
08:37to
08:37signpost them there's nothing worse than saying look i'm here to help you feeling that you need
08:41to try and fix them which you shouldn't as a friend your job is not to fix them you're not
08:45a doctor
08:45and even if you are a doctor you're there as a friend or a family member not as a doctor
08:49you're there
08:50to listen and signpost and say i'll be with you through this journey of whatever sport you need
08:54this is the sports available so as i always say to people it's not just knowing support for yourself
08:59know it for people around you because when that moment when you've got a glimpse into someone's
09:02health or they're reaching out and they're reaching out to hold your hand be that person
09:06that has some something to say you know you've got somewhere to say this is where i can you know
09:12i
09:12can suggest that you can get good support that's i think that's like that's wonderful that you've said
09:17that because i do feel like sometimes we do feel the pressure to be the person that fixes people
09:24you know we almost get a bit it then it ends up affecting our mental health because we're like
09:29why can i not fix this person but you're right
09:35things that i love about you is your post the pill campaign i just think that is wonderful like
09:42honestly that is actually i heard some people when i went out for food i heard some people talk about
09:50and i really wanted to go he's my friend oh bless you wow that it's amazing to hear that i
09:55mean
09:55i was quite i was nervous about posting it for all sorts of reasons and being a medic there's even
10:00more stigma around taking medication i thought you know i'm gonna do it and and the response has been
10:04amazing but the thing i wanted is not to be able to go oh gosh you know you're right it
10:08was very much
10:09like taking power over and going you know there's nothing to be ashamed of and what i've been really
10:13happy about is seeing other people posting their pill you know random people that don't know
10:17that is associated you know or that i started that thing that's not important people doing it
10:21because they've heard about it and they want to get involved and that's amazing you know i saw
10:25like there's an england cricketer that did it as sports people it's been in australia and stuff so
10:30just trying to keep it going really first of the month every month you know posting it and and if
10:34it
10:35helps a few people it's worth it and i've had dms and people saying look you know i've been
10:38struggling for 10 years i've not spoke to anyone i have gone to see my doctor and then i'm starting
10:42starting treatment on a medication it's not necessarily about medication it might be therapy it might be any
10:46kind of support but it's taking the step to getting what you need because i suppose we wouldn't
10:52really feel stigma of taking a paracetamol if we have if we had a bad experience
11:00obviously social media is both like the devil and angel on your shoulder isn't it because it can be
11:08sometimes a bit of a bad place like but also can be used for good yeah and we but we
11:15both know this i
11:16mean we both can be the most horrible space but it can also be a really positive space and i
11:21always
11:21think it's it's how you use it you've got to accept that social media is good and it's bad it's
11:25both
11:26and it's more about like what do you do with that so how do i manage the bits that are
11:30bad or protect
11:31myself from that and engage with bits that are good so for me that's not using twitter i don't use
11:36twitter i just find that i actually just deleted my twitter yes just get rid of it it's not what
11:41is it
11:43for anyone get rid of it so got rid of that and i focus on the platforms i feel that
11:48um you know
11:49there's a supportive community we're there for each other you know even instagram sometimes can be a
11:54place that you know there's a bit of you know people can have a go whatever but on the whole
11:57if you create your own positivity and you put out positive content and you you know you generally
12:02care about what you do people respond to that and in that sense it can be really good but things
12:07like managing a screen time you know some people can you know it's easy to spend six seven hours a
12:11day
12:12you know a lot of the science a lot of the evidence with social media use is linked towards
12:16time so the longer you're online the more likely to experience problems like anxiety and depression
12:21as a result of it so not spending too long online is very important and just managing what you see
12:26like only follow people that make you feel good that that you that reflect your hobbies and interests
12:31if you're following people that make you feel jealous unfollow them you know just unfollow them like
12:35it's not you know i think sometimes we worry about oh god no just unfollow them like it's not a
12:39big
12:39problem get rid and if anything is making you if social media is making you feel anxious have a
12:44detox turn off for a week a month
12:50it's hard isn't it for for teenagers i think because it is a part of like i feel like we
12:56were
12:57probably the last generation to sort of have both we had a little bit of non-social media life and
13:03then
13:03social media being really prevalent but how what would you say to teenagers who are struggling with
13:09the mental health well i think with social media you can still even if you don't come off limits
13:13say half an hour a day i'll go on instagram i'll just check if anyone's message me that i want
13:16to
13:17chat to and i'll check up what my auntie or my best mate's doing i'll come off and leave it
13:21okay if
13:21you don't want to come off completely and just narrow how many platforms you're using do you really need
13:26like every single platform just use the ones that generally relate to you a lot as i say follow
13:31accounts that make you feel positive that reflect your hobbies your interests they're aspirational
13:36and and i think in terms of like things like bullying which we know is a big problem online
13:41you know don't tolerate it block accounts that are bullying you go into your instagram and you
13:45can affect keywords you know so people send you certain messages then they won't appear they'll
13:49come in your dms you won't see them on your on your comments and things and if you really are
13:53experiencing bullying talk to people speak to family friends around you i guarantee you won't be the
13:58only person's experiencing it and if not then reach out to help from other support services if
14:02you're a young person young minds amazing mind have a lot of advice about online bullying and trolling
14:07you know don't kind of suffer it alone you don't need to go through it alone
14:14well obviously you've had difficult times as well and i was just wondering what things that you do
14:20to get through a bad day what are the things that bring you joy or that bring you out of
14:27feeling feeling yeah i mean you know we all have ups and down days and you know i i have
14:32days where
14:32things get on top of you and like oh gosh i can't you know this is too much and i
14:36think it's i think
14:37the first thing is is recognizing that like recognizing yourself when you're actually struggling a little
14:42bit so it's very hard to focus on feelings because feelings within ourselves are hard to kind of
14:47understand all the time what you can focus on is behavior so if you've lost interest of like meeting
14:52your friends or going out about doing things you've stopped you know showing the same interest in your
14:57hobbies whatever it might be maybe a bit grouchy people are saying oh you're a bit grouchy at the
15:00moment just notice within you know how people are interacting with you and how you're behaving
15:04and if you are feeling that way then just think you know what is going on what has made me
15:08like be this way you know and i talk about it again in the book it's like you know right
15:13go through
15:13the checklist you know am i doing something today that gives me a bit of passion and purpose
15:17have i eaten today like reasonable food have i drunk enough water did i sleep the last few nights
15:23am i maybe feeling a bit anxious because i drunk a bit too much um you know this weekend when's
15:27the
15:27last time i moved and got some natural light or saw my friends and when you run through that
15:31checklist it's quite it's quite helpful because it helps you kind of pinpoint areas there might be a
15:36problem and then you know it's kind of going well do i rectify that list or do i just need
15:40a bit of
15:40self-care time do i need to for me it's run a bath a bit of classical music on because
15:45it
15:45reduces my anxiety chat to a friend you know i've got one friend i chat to i always feel better
15:50for doing and go outside that's kind of my general things that work and come off the phone you know
15:55this thing this thing this thing never stops your phone never stops you know and and you know the
16:01social media place and online space it's gonna be here long after you're gone so don't waste your
16:07life worrying about it too much because it's not going anywhere you are so it's worth remembering it
16:12sometimes and having gratitude one of the best things you can do when you're feeling rubbish is
16:16showing gratitude and i'm not just talking about like in the sense of privileged position is that
16:20you know like i would consider myself to be i just mean it's the little things of like you know
16:24i'm
16:25grateful to breathe today i'm glad i can move uh i've got someone i can speak to and it might
16:30be like
16:30gratitude that i feel um i feel you know happy that you know it's sunny or whatever it might be
16:36just
16:36look around and find gratitude in little things because often the things that overwhelm us
16:40are maybe not the most important things anyway you know all the things that really matter and if
16:44you see what happened bless with uh you know ronaldo losing his uh one of the twins all there
16:49you can have everything in the world all that really matters the health of your family
16:52your friends and the things that you need each day food water shelter and just focus on those
16:58little things you realize actually you've got a lot more than you think oh i think that's great
17:02that is really great advice like i just whenever i feel like whenever i speech i always just feel
17:08instantly better i think that's very good i don't know anything maybe you're thinking oh do you know
17:13what there's someone worse off than me no i just always instantly feel better i really do well i
17:20don't know i i think you know we you know you go through you go through good and bad times
17:25in life
17:25i think the sooner you i think the the good thing you know eventually begun to realize is that no
17:30one
17:30has a shiny rosy life the best and worst the best and worst things happen to everyone and so
17:36when you can accept that and realize the rough of the smooth comes and when life is difficult
17:41it will get better and when it's really good something might happen i think it's it's not
17:45it's not creating anxiety about oh my god things good at the moment something bad might happen it's
17:48just understanding that even if it's really good and something goes wrong say you're in this rosy
17:52relationship and oh my god what if we break up but if you do break up you know that won't
17:56last
17:56forever and that's you will find someone else or that you will find happiness afterwards i think
18:00it's a real level of like um contentment that comes with accepting that life is what it is
18:07ah alex thank you so much
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