“You Have Always Mattered”: BBC Anchor-Turned NHS Therapist Sian Williams on Why Your Anxious Feelings Count

This week I’m joined by Dr Sian Williams – former BBC news anchor turned NHS counselling psychologist – who has swapped the newsroom for the therapy room to sit with people living through complex trauma, anxiety and stress. She talks about what she’s learned from reporting on some of the world’s worst days and now helping people survive their own, and why so many of us feel we don’t “deserve” our feelings. We get into anxiety as a full-body, thinking-feeling-doing experience, why trying to out-think it only makes it louder, and how to stop self-silencing and people-pleasing at the expense of yourself. Sian shares her “orchids and dandelions” way of understanding highly sensitive people, and why changing your environment – not who you are – is the key to finally feeling like you’re enough. If you’ve ever been told you’re “too sensitive” or wished you could grow a thicker skin, this episode is your reminder that you have always mattered, and your feelings really do count.

BOOKS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE

Sian’s new book, The Power of Anxiety, is available to buy now.

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If this episode resonated with you, please share it with someone who might need it – it really helps! Bryony xx

CREDITS:

Host: Bryony Gordon

Guest: Sian Williams

Producer: Laura Elwood-Craig

Assistant Producer: Tippi Willard

Studio Manager: Mitchell Lias