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Why do we cry? How come love hurts? And what’s a happiness researcher doing talking about sadness, anyway? Helen Russell is a journalist and happiness researcher and How to be Sad is a new podcast based on her book of the same name - exploring why we get sad, what to do when we’re sad, and how we can all get happier by learning to be sad, better. Because let’s be honest – we are in unprecedented times. None of us are where we thought we’d be this time last year and we’re all struggling. We’re having to get better at having difficult conversations and finding ways of handling our sadness. Join Helen as she talks to some high profile people from all walks of life who have done just that. Each week, special guests share their own experiences of everything from heartache to burnout, anxiety to addiction, the differences between sadness and depression - and how they cope. Find out more @MsHelenRussell #HowToBeSad and order How To Be Sad at https://harpercollins.co.uk/products/how-to-be-sad-the-key-to-a-happier-life-helen-russell?variant=39445841018958
Episodes
Wednesday Mar 03, 2021
Wednesday Mar 03, 2021
Hollie McNish is a poet, writer and Ted Hughes Award-winning author of Nobody Told Me – a collection of poems and stories about raising a child in modern Britain..
Hollie writes with raw honesty, warmth and humour, but as well as great critical and mainstream success, she’s also had her fair share of setbacks and her work articulates perfectly the ‘everyday sadness’ that we all experience.
In this episode, Hollie and Helen chat:
- Motherhood myths
- The commercialisation of parenthood
- The frustrations of modern life
- Guilt
- Class and snobbery
- Online abuse
- Not belittling our sadness
- The unexpected freedoms of being a single parent
- Sting’s next project…
- …and reframing selfies as ‘the oil paintings of the Tinder age’
Trigger: suicide
Find out more about Hollie’s work here and follow Hollie on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube @holliepoetry
Hollie’s next collection of poetry, Slug, is out in May.
Follow Helen on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook @MsHelenRussell
Read more about Helen’s new book, How To Be Sad at Waterstones or Amazon.
Get in touch with the show at howtobesadpodcast@gmail.com
Thanks to Joel Grove for production and to Matt Clacher at HarperCollins for making this podcast happen.
Wednesday Feb 24, 2021
Wednesday Feb 24, 2021
Meik Wiking is a Danish happiness researcher, CEO of the Happiness Research Institute, and author of the bestselling Little Book of Hygge.
Meik is committed to researching into how more of us can get happier, but in doing so, he’s also studied what doesn’t make us happier. His latest report studied the impact of the coronavirus on wellbeing and - spoiler alert – it isn’t great. Here, he talks about his experiences of loss and sadness – both personally and professionally.
In this episode, Meik talks to Helen about:
- The loss of his mum at an early age
- Why sadness matters
- The dark side of happiness
- Comparison anxiety and inequality
- Imposter syndrome
- Professional setbacks
- Living with less
- Acts of service and the importance of feeling ‘useful’
- How to keep on an even keel
- Finding joy in difficult times
Trigger: suicide, bereavement
Find out more about Meik at https://www.meikwiking.com/ and follow Meik on Twitter and Instagram @MeikWiking or Facebook @meikwiking1
Follow Helen on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook @MsHelenRussell
Read more about Helen’s new book, How To Be Sad at Waterstones or Amazon
Get in touch with the show at howtobesadpodcast@gmail.com
Thanks to Joel Grove for production and to Matt Clacher at HarperCollins for making this podcast happen.
Wednesday Feb 17, 2021
Wednesday Feb 17, 2021
Ella Mills of Deliciously Ella is a champion of plant-based living, an award-winning author, and an adept businesswoman.
Here, Ella also opens up about her lows and feeling vulnerable at times - not least where it all began with a debilitating condition that started her quest for change.
In this episode, Ella talks to Helen about:
- Loss
- Regret
- Chronic illness
- Depression
- Trolling and online abuse
- Feelings of rejection and how we gravitate towards negative feedback
- Having a high profile and the challenges that come with it
- Allowing ourselves to be vulnerable
- The importance of ‘acceptance’
- And how ‘everything passes...even when it feels insurmountable’
Trigger: depression
Find out more about Deliciously Ella https://deliciouslyella.com/ and follow Ella on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook @DeliciouslyElla
Follow Helen on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook @MsHelenRussell
Read more about Helen’s new book, How To Be Sad at Waterstones or Amazon
Get in touch with the show at howtobesadpodcast@gmail.com
Thanks to Joel Grove for production and to Matt Clacher at HarperCollins for making this podcast happen.
Wednesday Jan 27, 2021
Wednesday Jan 27, 2021
Why do we cry? How come love hurts? And what’s a happiness researcher doing talking about sadness, anyway?
Helen Russell is a journalist and happiness researcher and How to be Sad is a new podcast based on her book of the same name - exploring why we get sad, what to do when we’re sad, and how we can all get happier by learning to be sad, better. Because let’s be honest – we are in unprecedented times. None of us are where we thought we’d be this time last year and we’re all struggling. We’re having to get better at having difficult conversations and finding ways of handling our sadness.
Join Helen as she talks to some high profile people from all walks of life who have done just that. Each week, special guests share their own experiences of everything from heartache to burnout, anxiety to addiction, the differences between sadness and depression - and how they cope.
Find out more @MsHelenRussell #HowToBeSad and pre order How To Be Sad at https://harpercollins.co.uk/products/how-to-be-sad-everything-ive-learned-about-getting-happier-by-being-sad-better-helen-russell?variant=32618500653134