Seen with Pandora Morris

How do you find pleasure in a body you've spent years at war with?

This week I'm joined by Emma Louise Boynton, writer, founder of Sex Talks and author of Pleasure. Emma spent her adolescence in the grip of an eating disorder and her twenties convinced she was broken, certain everyone else had an ease with intimacy she'd been left out of. What shifted it wasn't years of unpicking her childhood. It was a sex therapist asking what her relationship was like to her body. This is also the first episode of our rebrand, and I couldn't have asked for a better conversation to start with.

I recognized so much of myself in this: the competitiveness, the performing, the loneliness underneath it all that I only really named years later. Emma talks about every bit of it without flinching and without tidying it into a lesson, and she's very funny about it, which I wasn't expecting.

In this episode, you'll learn:
- Being the confident, capable one while something else entirely was going on behind the scenes
- What an eating disorder costs you: your grades, your friendships, your ability to be reached by anyone trying to help
- The cage, and why it's so hard to get out of something you built yourself
- Loneliness as the thing sitting underneath it, and how long it can take to see that
- Why asking what an illness is giving you is more useful than asking where it came from
- The sex education we were both handed, and the word that was never once mentioned
- Why consent starts with knowing your own body's yes and no
- Performativity, and why performing a version of yourself in sex felt so familiar
- Emma's case for lifelong sex education, and porn literacy for a generation already seeing it
- Bonnie Blue, the "contentification" of everything, and why Emma won't demonise sex workers while criticising the culture that rewards extremity
- The line from her sex therapist that shifted something: "For as long as you're at war with your body, you will struggle to enjoy sexual pleasure"
- The pleasure journal, body neutrality over body positivity, and where to begin if intimacy with yourself has never been on your radar

Emma-Louise Boynton is a writer and broadcaster, and the creator and host of Sex Talks, the sell-out live event series and podcast she runs at The London Edition, built to open up honest conversations about sex, gender and the future of intimacy. She previously worked as a producer for the BBC and Sky News in London, and for Tina Brown's Women in the World Summit in New York, and co-founded the creative production agency Her Hustle.

Her first book, Pleasure: The Reclamation of My Body, is out now with LEAP. 
https://www.waterstones.com/book/pleasure/emma-louise-boynton/9781785129711

https://www.bonnierbooks.co.uk/news-and-media/leap-pre-empts-urgent-new-book-on-female-pleasure/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emmalouiseboynton/
Sex Talks: https://www.emmalouiseboynton.co/sex-talks
Substack: https://substack.com/@emmalouiseboynton
X:  https://x.com/emmalouboynton?lang=en
Chapters:
Introduction: Eating Disorders Don't All Look Alike (00:00)
The Deal She Made, And The Cage It Built (04:33)
The Day Something Turned, And The Loneliness Underneath (09:52)
Recovery, Restlessness, And A Hypersensitive Mind (14:06)
Disconnected From Her Body, And Taught To Fear Sex (18:08)
Consent, Keeping Score, And Sex As Performance (22:50)
Lifelong Sex Education, Porn Literacy, And Misogyny (28:46)
Bonnie Blue, And The Dinner Party That Changed Everything (33:44)
Rock Bottom, Then The Line That Changed Everything (39:04)
Your Body Is Your Only Home (43:55)
Why Sex Therapy Worked When Nothing Else Did (48:36)
The Shame Nobody Admits, And Being Shadow Banned (53:54)
Less Sex Than Ever, And Where To Start (59:20)

One of the most open conversations I've had about bodies, shame and pleasure, and about the relief of discovering that the thing you were sure was uniquely wrong with you is, in fact, extremely common.

Where do you start when you realise you're struggling with your mental health?
In this bonus episode of Seen, author Gemma Styles joins me again for a few more questions after our main conversation.
Gemma's advice for a first step is simple: speak to someone. It doesn't have to be the perfect person, or the perfect way. If saying it out loud feels too hard, write it down or send a text. She also shares who she first opened up to.
We talk about the difference between feeling sad and being depressed, and why casual phrases like "I'm so ADHD" or "I'm a bit OCD" don't help anyone. Gemma also explains why she pushes back on the idea that ADHD is overdiagnosed.
Then we get practical. Gemma shares the small, everyday things that help her, from feeding herself properly and getting outside to being honest when she has nothing left in the tank, as an introvert and a mum.
In this episode, you'll learn:
- How to take a first step when you're struggling, even if it's just a text
- Why you don't have to wait until things get worse to look after your mental health
- Small daily habits that help Gemma look after herself
- Why mental health and neurodivergence don't look the same in everyone
I hope this one reminds you that we're all different, and that's what makes life so beautiful and rich.
Chapters:
Where to Start When You're Struggling With Your Mental Health (00:00)
Who Gemma First Opened Up To (02:13)
Is ADHD Overdiagnosed? Why Language and Labels Matter (03:09 )
Sad or Depressed? Situational vs Clinical Depression (06:34)
Mental Health Maintenance: Gemma's Daily Non-Negotiables (09:56)
How Gemma Protects Her Social Energy as an Introvert (12:30)
Why Mental Health Doesn't Look the Same in Everyone (13:40)

This episode is for education only and isn't medical advice. If you're struggling, please speak to your GP or someone you trust.

Why does being healthy feel so hard, when we have more health information than ever? 

On this episode of Seen, I sit down with nutritionist Sarah Ann Macklin, author of the bestselling book Healthy Shouldn't Be This Hard. I devoured her book, and I loved this conversation. Sarah has worked in wellbeing for over a decade. She says we don't have an information problem. We've lost ourselves in the middle of the health conversation. So we talk about the part most of us skip: the way we speak to ourselves. 

We get into how constant self-criticism keeps your body in stress mode. We talk about why sleep tracking can turn into an obsession, and why self-compassion can boost your motivation instead of making you lazy. Sarah also opens up about her two burnouts, and why reaching a big goal can still leave you feeling empty. 

We also talk about the new GLP-1 weight loss pill. Sarah shares why she's worried about people taking it when it isn't meant for them, including the effects on muscle and bone health. This topic is very close to my heart. 

In this episode, you'll learn:
 - Why being hard on yourself can make healthy habits harder to stick to
 - What self-compassion really is, and why it isn't letting yourself off the hook
 - How to be your own parent, from your morning routine to your phone
 - How a one-day thought journal can show you what your inner critic is saying 
I hope this one helps you be a little kinder to yourself. 

Chapters:
Why Is Being Healthy So Hard? (00:00)
Why Drastic Health Changes Often Fail (05:17)
Orthosomnia: When Sleep Tracking Becomes an Obsession (06:35)
Are You Living in a Dysregulated Nervous System? (09:37)
What Is Self-Compassion? And Why It Makes Us Cringe (14:46)
How to Talk to Yourself Like a Good Friend (18:37)
Does Self-Compassion Make You Lazy? (24:12)
Be Your Own Parent: Simple Daily Habits (28:51)
The Arrival Fallacy: Why Success Can Feel Empty (31:49)
Burnout: What Happens When You Ignore Your Body (36:43)
How to Use a Thought Journal (38:36)
Loneliness, Relationships and Longevity (41:27)
GLP-1 Weight Loss Pills: Muscle and Bone Health Concerns (42:47)
Why Nobody Has It All Figured Out (52:24)
Dyslexia, Self-Belief and Feeling Truly Seen (56:35)

This episode is for education only and isn't medical advice. Please speak to your GP before starting any medication.

In this personal solo episode, Pandora looks back on four years of Hurt to Healing and the extraordinary journey that has brought her here. She shares how learning to trust herself, embrace uncertainty and choose the things that make life bigger has transformed her recovery, before revealing the exciting new name and vision for the podcast as it enters its next chapter.

Seen with Pandora Morris is Coming Soon!

Stay Connected with Hurt to Healing:
Instagram: instagram.com/hurttohealingpod
YouTube: youtube.com/@hurttohealingpod
TikTok: tiktok.com/@hurttohealingpod
Substack: substack.com/@hurttohealing
Website: hurttohealing.co.uk
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today I'm joined by OCD advocate and content creator Zachary Tucker for a conversation about one of the most misunderstood aspects of OCD: intrusive thoughts.

We explore what intrusive thoughts really are, why reassurance can actually keep OCD going, some of the lesser-known forms of the condition, and where to find support if you think you might be struggling yourself.
Stay Connected with Hurt to Healing:
Instagram: instagram.com/hurttohealingpod
YouTube: youtube.com/@hurttohealingpod
TikTok: tiktok.com/@hurttohealingpod
Substack: substack.com/@hurttohealing
Website: hurttohealing.co.uk
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.