Francesca Rudkin

Now I need to go and get a proper prescription.

Totally, totally.

You've known me a long time, Francesca.

I can go into a downward spiral pretty bloody fast if I get bad feedback or just hear some negative news.

I don't seem to spiral upwards nearly at the same rate, and I'm sure I'm not alone in this.

You're just like an oil price.

You rock it up and you float down like a feather.

Yes.

Oh, thanks, love.

Even though, like, academically, right, I know and understand the principles of mindfulness and things just being as they are, but it can be quite hard sometimes to keep that negativity at bay.

It's not anxiety or depression.

It's just feeling blah or a little bit sorry for myself or for someone else or for the world.

So how do you manage unwelcome negative thoughts or your inner self-critic, Francesca?

Well, I work in radio.

And some of that will be what the world's always told us and particularly maybe for women and certainly for middle-aged women who can start to feel a little bit invisible.

And some of it will be in a critic that's

that believes that stuff or has internalised that stuff.

And I'd really like to get to the bottom of that idea that we can change our responses to negative feedback or criticism or even learn from it.

We're always into growth here, Francesca, aren't we?

That we are.