How Do We Manage?

When we picture healthcare experts we might think of people like doctors, nurses, surgeons and neurologists. But what about the patients? Patients are able to give us so much insight into what our healthcare systems are really like; where they thrive and where they fail.

Tilly Rose describes herself as an ‘expert’ patient. She spent the best part of two decades trying to receive diagnoses for a whole range of debilitating symptoms. After the frustration of being told that her physical symptoms were ‘all in her head’ and being left on ‘comfort care’, Tilly and her mother took matters into their own hands, researched what they thought could be wrong and found the doctors who could diagnose her. The journey has taken them through hospitals in the UK all the way to Germany, and they are an incredible example of what can happen when you choose not to accept that you are simply a medical mystery.

Tilly’s example is an extreme one, but we should all be able to advocate for ourselves when we feel we aren’t getting the medical attention we need - no matter how small the symptom. In this episode she tells Stephanie about her journey, the issues with the UK healthcare system that prevented her from receiving a diagnosis, the gender health gap and being believed as a female patient, and what she thinks needs to change to make things better.

Resources & Links 

Buy Tilly’s book ‘Be Patient’ here

Host: Stephanie von Bismarck 

Guest: Tilly Rose, author of ‘Be Patient’

Producer: Holly Fisher

Production Manager: Angela Crago 

Executive Producer: Ellie Di Martino 

The series was recorded and edited at Pod Shop studios. 

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Sheldon Thomas is the founder of Gangsline Foundation Trust, a pioneering organisation that supports young people caught up in gangs. Once involved in gangs himself, Sheldon now dedicates his life to prevention and intervention; he has worked around the world to give young people a second chance through his mentoring schemes.

On this episode of How Do We Manage Sheldon tells Stephanie about his own experiences of gang life as a young man, why conversations around immigrants get in the way of the real issues at hand, what politicians are getting wrong, why prevention starts at home with positive male role models, and how parents and carers can recognise the signs that their children might be targeted by a gang.

Resources & Links 

Sheldon Thomas: www.instagram.com/sheldon_st

Host: Stephanie von Bismarck 

Guest: Sheldon Thomas, founder of Gangsline Foundation Trust and ST Solutions Consultancy

Producer: Holly Fisher and Tory Pope

Production Manager: Angela Crago 

Executive Producer: Ellie Di Martino 

The series was recorded and edited at Pod Shop studios. 

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How often do you use AI in your daily life? Perhaps you use it to find a recipe, or to help plan your week, or a holiday. But have you ever turned to it for emotional support? 

As the world’s collective mental health is worsening, many who are suffering do not have access to the support that they need, and so the number of people turning to the likes of ChatGPT or Gemini for help is increasing. But are these services safe places to seek this sort of advice?

Today, Stephanie speaks to Johannes Eichstaedt, co-director of the Center for Responsible and Effective AI Technology Enhancement of Treatments for PTSD at Stanford University. There, they are finding safe ways to integrate AI into mental health treatment.

As Johannes tells us, while the apps we carry around in our pockets might not be the best source for psychological advice, AI could be used to support mental healthcare services, which in turn could open up more treatment for patients.

This conversation starts with the pros and cons of AI when it comes to therapy and mental health, but also looks at the wider landscape of how AI might be integrated into our lives, what we have learnt from the social media age, and what education might look like in the future.

Resources & Links 

For more on Johannes’s work with CREATE: https://create.stanford.edu/about-create

If you are concerned about your own mental health you can find advice from your GP or mental health charities like the Samaritans or Mind

Host: Stephanie von Bismarck 

Guest: Johannes Eichstaedt

Producer: Holly Fisher

Production Manager: Angela Crago 

Executive Producer: Ellie Di Martino 

The series was recorded and edited at Pod Shop studios. Follow @HowDoWeManage

When you think about an angry person, who do you picture? Perhaps someone who flies off the handle easily, or someone who becomes intimidating when they are frustrated. Anger is framed so negatively in our society, but actually it’s as informative an emotion as happiness or sadness. Many of us hold our anger back but suppressed anger can be just as harmful as anger that comes out as aggression, so how do we manage that?

Today’s guest, journalist Sam Parker, is the author of  ‘Good Anger: How Rethinking Rage Can Change Our Lives’, a book that explores this complex emotion and why being angry can be a good thing. 

In this episode he and Stephanie discuss why we have anger and aggression confused, the history of anger and how it’s been framed through the ages, and how to access your own anger and use it in a meaningful way.

Resources & Links 

You can order Sam Parker’s book ‘Good Anger’ here

Host: Stephanie von Bismarck 

Guest: Sam Parker

Producer: Holly Fisher and Tory Pope

Production Manager: Angela Crago 

Executive Producer: Ellie Di Martino 

The series was recorded and edited at Pod Shop studios. 

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As the dust settles from New Year’s Eve parties around the world, lots of us will be thinking about the changes we want to make to our lives in 2026. For many that will involve thinking about reducing alcohol, or even giving it up entirely. Challenges like Dry January are extremely popular among those who want to start living a healthier lifestyle, but what happens when February 1st hits? Is going cold turkey for a few weeks enough to fully embrace a sober lifestyle?

Today, our guest is Jen Fairbairns from One Year No Beer - a company that helps sober-curious people on their journey to change their relationship with drinking. She talks to Stephanie about what it takes to really get to the heart of why we use alcohol as a crutch, gives tips on how to socialise sober when no one else is, and tells us what we need to look at within ourselves to overhaul our habit loops.

Resources & Links 

To find out more about One Year No Beer’s coaching schemes and challenges visit https://www.oynb.com/

If you have concerns about your own alcohol consumption or a friend or family member’s then you can seek support at Alcohol Change UK https://alcoholchange.org.uk/

Host: Stephanie von Bismarck 

Guest: Jen Fairbairns from One Year No Beer

Producer: Holly Fisher

Production Manager: Angela Crago 

Executive Producer: Ellie Di Martino 

The series was recorded and edited at Pod Shop studios. 

Follow @HowDoWeManage