Hello and welcome to Happy Place, my little safe space where you're all invited to hear fascinating people bear their souls so that we might all learn how to live better lives.

I'm Fern cotton and my safe space has grown slightly this series to accommodate the thousands that attended the Happy Place Festival.

And today we'll hear many wise words from Katie Piper.

I mean I was fearful for such a long time of so many visible and invisible things and I used to take it back to the prison sentence of years that the people who did this to me got.

I know you think they're six years in and they've only got two more years and I'm still too scared to do this and this. I'm the prisoner.

Katie is such an incredibly and she's not a fan of this world, inspiring human being but she just is.

Someone who has been through so much and still has gone on to greater and greater things you're going to love this chat.

Hi it's Gabby Logan here from the Midpoint podcast, the podcast which is all about being in the midlife but the glorious things.

While the podcast is currently being sponsored by JD Williams, JD Williams is the only cross category store fully designed around midlife women and our lifestyles.

So many things have changed but then so many things stay the same as well. I love hanging out with my female friends more than I ever have because girls are still girls we like dressing up, we like going out, we like dancing and just have to be in a club dancing in the living room as long as you with your besties and you feeling good about yourself then you could be anywhere JD Williams will have what you need to feel fantastic and get you excited about every day life in midlife JD Williams dot com dot UK is what you can find it all.

For this episode of Happy Place we partnered with Heritage by Julox. Heritage Velvet Matt has a luxury soft touch paint finish that stands up to the demands of a busy modern home available in a beautifully timeless color palette that allows us to fill our homes with whichever rich feelings we please.

I've got a pot of an utterly gorgeous rich shade called deep ultra marine right here. Do you know the lapis lazuli stone it's like that a completely hypnotic blue that reminds me of just how much I feel mesmerized whenever I buy the sea on the south coast it's got that gorgeous seaside feel to it that deep sea for you.

Deep sea feel to it whenever I'm by the sea I feel oh just so much calmer my nervous system my physical body just everything slows down a bit and feels less edgy and that means my thoughts stop racing they're just at a slower pace and I feel like I can just manage with everything that bit better the sea has a huge effect on me.

So it will probably come as no surprise to you that I've got options I'm either going to paint my bedroom in this color or my little tiny office where I write and do all of my happy place emails etc so I think a deep ultra marine could really bring a sense of freedom but also adventure into my life.

Heritage by do locks can help us to surround ourselves with our fondest memories and feelings discover the full range of heritage by do locks at do locks heritage dot com dot UK heritage by do locks it's a feeling and now here's the show.

Katie by the thank you so much Katie and when I knew we were doing this for real and it was happening and I was going to do live podcast you would you were top of the list we've never done this on your

podcast yes I've never had the chance to interview properly we've sort of bumped into each other yeah stuff and I put the short straw because I interviewed you like in your lounge if you're cat and now I'm here with all these people slightly more fresh up I know right yeah my cats were really kind of like what are you guys talking about I need to get in on this but this lot going to be lovely and warm and not as aggressive as my cats I've for a long time admired admired what you do and

how you use the power of your voice and how you've created such a beautiful community and I when I sit out to structure how we might talk about things today sort of near impossible because there's so many things that I'm curious about and I want to understand and also that I'm sure this lovely lot are desperate to know about as well I think the starting place that feels right is to try and understand this about you so

when any of us are faced with challenges in life adversity the unexpected we all of course have a decision it might not always feel like it but we have a decision whether to hide from life because it feels too much or to show up and try again and not let life beat us and you are someone that has done that again and again but you've done it

right from the start and I mean treat to know if that was a conscious decision or if you just felt there was no other option for you yeah I mean it's an interesting debate because sometimes we are making decisions and we don't realize it

particularly I think when it's a medical journey if you have some kind of disease or disability at many points it feels like decision making isn't in your hand

and your own body and your health isn't in your own control and then you can search for things to be in control of and you know when I was in a bad place I would think nothing is in my control

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