Does what we believe about our health affect it?
What's Up Docs?
BBC
4.4 • 659 Ratings
🗓️ 2 December 2025
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Welcome to What’s Up Docs?, the podcast where doctors and identical twins Chris and Xand van Tulleken confront the confusion around every aspect of our health and wellbeing.
In this episode, they’re asking why beliefs about our bodies are so powerful? We often think of belief as something soft – just ideas in our heads. But beliefs can shape how we experience pain, how we heal, and even how societies behave. In health, they can influence whether treatments work and how symptoms are felt.
So what actually are beliefs? Why do we them, and how do they form? And can changing what we believe about our bodies actually change how we feel?
To help answer these questions, Chris and Xand are joined by Ryan McKay, Professor of Psychology at Royal Holloway, University of London, and an expert on the psychology of belief.
If you want to get in touch, you can email us at whatsupdocs@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 08000 665 123.
Presenters: Drs Chris and Xand van Tulleken Guest: Professor Ryan McKay Producer: Maia Miller-Lewis Executive Producer: Rami Tzabar Editor: Jo Rowntree Researcher: Grace Revill Tech Lead: Reuben Huxtable Social Media: Leon Gower Digital Lead: Richard Berry Composer: Phoebe McFarlane Sound Design: Melvin Rickarby
At the BBC: Assistant Commissioner: Greg Smith Commissioning Editor: Rhian Roberts
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds |
| 0:02.2 | Music Radio Podcasts |
| 0:04.6 | I like when a manager wears a suit and tides, you know what I mean? |
| 0:09.7 | In 2025, we were here for the football. |
| 0:13.0 | The Wayne Rooney Show |
| 0:14.0 | As a manager, you're making decisions on what you're seeing on the pitch. |
| 0:16.9 | Sometimes it doesn't always pay off. |
| 0:18.3 | Football daily. |
| 0:19.4 | Loyalty in football. Does it still exist? There football daily loyalty in football does it still exist |
| 0:21.8 | there is no loyalty in football and tunie and russo do you feel like the pressure actually helps |
| 0:26.9 | you play the best football we've prepared ourselves to step out onto the pitch at the end of the day |
| 0:31.2 | get the best of 2025 with podcasts on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:39.9 | Hello and welcome to WhatsApp Docs. |
| 0:44.5 | I'm Dr Chris and today I'm sitting in the studio without my identical twin brother. |
| 0:49.1 | That's right. I'm Dr. Zand and I am sitting at home for reasons that we'll come to. But we're going to do this episode of What's Up Docs as normal or we're going to try. |
| 0:53.1 | For BBC Radio 4, we are going to try, for BBC Radio 4, |
| 0:54.6 | we are going to be combating the complex and conflicted world of health and well-being. |
| 0:59.9 | That's right, Zandi. We're going to be flushing out the fiction, finding out the facts about how we can best look after our minds and our bodies. |
| 1:06.6 | From the perils of all or nothing thinking to our amazing hearts to body temperature. |
| 1:12.4 | And today, Chris, you wanted to talk about something that all of our listeners hold. |
| 1:17.7 | That's right, Zandi. Today we're talking about belief, specifically our beliefs about health, |
| 1:23.5 | well-being and our own bodies. |
... |
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