The Life Of Bryony - The Life of You – Ruby Wax on Medication, Meditation and More Time with Cats

Episode Date: May 8, 2026

This week, Ruby Wax is back and, instead of talking about fame and despots, she’s letting us into the three things she genuinely can’t live without. These are the anchors she leans on when life feels a bit wobbly and she needs something to bring her back to herself – from the pills that keep her stable, to the “mind gym” practices that help her stay present, to the furry companions who somehow make everything softer and funnier. We talk about what actually supports her day-to-day, how she keeps herself on a more even keel, and why looking after your mind is mostly about small, consistent acts of care. If you’ve ever wondered what really keeps Ruby steady(-ish), this episode is for youUSEFUL LINKS:Tickets to Ruby’s tour, Absolutely Famous, can be bought here.And you can join Frazzled Café online 7 days a week here: https://www.frazzledcafe.org/ WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOUGot something to share? Message us on @lifeofbryonypod on Instagram.If this episode resonated with you, please share it with someone who might need it – it really helps! Bryony xxCREDITS:Host: Bryony GordonGuest: Ruby WaxProducer: Laura Elwood-CraigAssistant Producer: Tippi Willard Studio Manager: Mitchell LiasProduction Manager: Vittoria CecchiniEditor: Rowan JacobsExec Producer: Jamie East A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everyone and welcome back to the bonus edition of The Life of Briney, The Life of You. Today, Ruby Wax is talking us through the tools she relies on that make a massive difference to her mental health. Have you always been a cat person? No, never. But my children made me get them. And now I think women's hormones are connected to cats. Like the more you go past menopause, the more you like cats. Really? Yeah, I think so. My chat with Ruby coming up right after this. The Life of You, Ruby Wax.

Let's get going with the three things that are essential to your well-being. What would be the first thing? Medication. Yeah. Okay. So you're a firm believer in medication. No, but that's all we've got. You know, they didn't give us anything else.

And probably you'll find out that it does something, some side effect. I do know the side effect because my handshakes. But I'd rather have my handshake than end up again, you know. In the mental hospital. Yeah. Well, I like the mental hospital, actually. But, you know, I like it. I mean, I could see me as a permanent president. If anybody's listening out there in Bupa, just putting in a suggestion, I'll pay to get out, but I won't pay to get in. You've been an amazing ambassador. I'm amazing. They should give it to me free.

Yeah. What would you say, often increasingly, I hear people. saying, oh, I don't, the kind of stigma around medication seems to have returned a bit. Has it? I definitely, it's not, maybe not stigma, but there's definitely this sort of sense of superiority, I think, that people get if they manage to get through things without picking up medication. It depends what you think you've got. You know what I mean? If you've, people have said this, if you've got diabetes, you better get some insulin.

Yeah, yeah. Or if you want to cold turkey, that's your business. But if you've got the real thing, you're going to end up. People commit suicide not because they had a kidney infection. So it's always mental that drives them to it. Now, if you're faking it and you take antidepressants, it's actually harmful. So it's your choice. If you haven't got it and you're just having a bad hair day or you have anxiety, you shouldn't touch antidepressants.

No. But there's not enough skill. skilled psychiatrists around to determine that. So that's why we're a little screwed. Yeah. Well, because if you go to the doctor and you feel hopeless, and you've managed to pluck up the courage to go there in the first place, and then they say, well, this is all well and good, but I've got a waiting list as long as my

arm for psychotherapy, or I could give you these drugs, and that gives you a bit of hope. Yeah, but to me, you can tell depression. I mean, just look in the eyes. Do my eyes look dead to you? a little. You can tell in the eyes if they look dead and it stays that way for quite a while. I don't think your eyes do look dead. Okay. But I'm looking deep into your soul now, Ruby. Oh, are you? What do you see there? It's beautiful. I also think I remember when I first got, when I was 17 and I went to the doctor and they said,

we'd like to see how you get on for the next three weeks and if things get worse, we'll put you on antidepressants. And I remember thinking three weeks, I couldn't imagine the next three minutes. That was how bad it was. Yeah. And we walked out of the, we walked out of the GP's office and went to the car. And I just sobbed. I was in such a state because of the thought, even now just talking about it, the thought of not there being nothing and having to deal with these intrusive thoughts in my brain for another three weeks.

And so my mum sort of turned around. and marched me back into the GP and said, give it to her now. It got worse, you know. And. But it saves you. It does. The only reason we have relapses is I guess your body gets immune.

So they have to change the medication. I mean, that's why they can't get enough psychiatrists to do this. That's why the numbers are going up. Yeah. Especially for kids. Yeah. Yeah. So medication.

And number two? A meditation. Meditation. Yeah. That's when. And if you're in the depth of a depression, I wouldn't say there's no mind there. You know, people go, oh, you should start eating grapefruz or, you know, jogging. But you haven't got a mind, so there's nothing to work with.

Yeah. But when it starts to come back, then I go back to the gym. Yeah. So the meditation is like preventative gym work. It's not preventative. It's just a brain strength strengthener so that I can focus more than most people can just because I go to the gym. or I can, you know, you're more aware and you have the ability to refocus your attention quickly. You know, you want to get your attention where you want it rather than being dragged away where you don't.

Yeah. You know, I think that I'm able to do this interview because I, you know, there's a little bit of me that can go get in the room with her. Otherwise, you know, in this state you'd be drifting off. So I really work at it to be able to do that and to be able to lower my cortisol when it gets too high. high. So that's the reason to do it. It's like that's the barbell every day. If there's someone listening at home who is sort of overwhelmed by the idea of meditation, perhaps because they've been told to use it when they've been in a crisis. Yeah, don't. Which is like asking someone in a lead suit to go for a swim. Yeah. You know, it's like, what are you doing? What would be your tips on

getting started in meditation? I'd listen to my professor, Mark Williams. It's all free. I mean, if you listen to tapes, even headspace is okay. But it's a little like eventually you have to take off the trainer wheels. Or you can come to my frazzled cafes. No, I begin and, all cafes begin and end with meditation. Yeah. Just a few minutes, just to get your mind down, defrazzled. Otherwise, you can't hear anybody because you're so caught up in your own music.

Yes, that's true. So if you want to know what it is, come to the frazzled. Or I think on my RubyWex.net, I take you through medication, medication and meditation. The M's. It's like wearing a double condom for mental health. That's three. I love it. I've started doing a bit of meditation, but yeah. But it depends how you do it, you know, and who teaches it?

There's such shams out there. And nobody's quite sure what it is. So I don't even call it mindfulness. It's mine gym. It's mental exercise. It's attention, focusing awareness. It's attentional training. Yes.

What would be your third and final? That I have to have? Yeah. My cats. How many cats have you got really? Two. What are their names? They're new.

Buzz and Minnie. Buzz and Minnie. This is aside from my children. Oh, yeah. Because they'll get angry. How old are your children now? In their 30s. Okay.

Yeah. So they're done. But the kid. They're done. The kids are done. Yeah. But the cats are new. The cats are new.

Yeah. So they're kittens? They're kittens. Oh. But one of them is an elephant. They told me they were brothers. One of them is like five inches and the other one is the size of an octopus. Really?

I mean a big one. Yeah. Huge. So I don't, I think I was ripped off. They're not brother and sister at all. But you love them. I love them too much. Oh, have you always, have you always been a cat person?

No, never. I mean, but my children made me get them. And now I think women's hormones are connected to cats. Like the more you, you know, the more you go past menopause, the more you like cats. Really? Yeah, I think so. Do you think that's what? Because I'm not, I have started, the other day, I've never been a cat person.

And the other day, I was walking down the street. And this cat walked in front of me and it was like a beautiful gray hair, blue, whatever they're, you know, like it was like one of Taylor Swift's cats. Wow. You know? Have you had your menopause? I'm in it right now. You'll like the cat more. Yeah.

And I thought, I would love a cat like that. And I thought, where did that come from? That's where it is. I took a picture of the cat. Take a look at the hormones. When menopause is gone, you'll be collecting the cats. My daughter is coming into her hormones. She's going to be 13 next week.

Wow. And she loves the cat. So my husband has no, he's got no hope. Right. It's when you start collecting. cats. Yeah. That's when you know the menopause has come into the building.

Okay. But you say you've only got the two though? Yeah. Okay. But it'll mount. You're going to get more cats? Oh yeah. Okay.

They're also, you don't have to take them out for a walk? I do take them for walks. I have leashes. Stop it. Yes. Where do you take them? We're in, you know, there's a garden in the middle of all the houses. Right.

So I take them on the leash. And do they love that? No, they hate it. But I drag them around the garden. You're literally the very definition of a crazy cat lady. I think you need to do a reel on social media of taking your cats of Buzz and Minnie. On the leash, I never thought of it. You've got to do it.

All right. We want this. We want it. Okay. Thank you so much, Ruby. Thank you. Here you have it. Ruby waxes go-tos for staying even vaguely steady when the world and your brain

or feel a bit too much. If any of these chimed with you or sparked ideas about your own essentials, message me on Instagram and tell me what keeps you grounded. Or you could just leave us a review and give us a follow.

It makes a huge difference. But most importantly, look after yourself. Be as kind to you as you are to everyone else and I'll see you on Monday.