Caitlin Moran: “I Thought My Brain Had Broken” Becoming Hopeful After A Life Of Anxiety

Begin Again with Davina McCall

• Podcast Home
• Download Episode

Thursday, 10 September 2026 - 1 hour 16 minutes

How do we find hope when the world feels increasingly overwhelming?

In this episode of Begin Again, Caitlin Moran joins Davina McCall for a funny, moving and hopeful conversation about love, anxiety, feminism, loneliness and finding your way back to joy.

Caitlin opens up about experiencing her first panic attack at 13, after revealing her family were living on benefits, and how anxiety became the fuel that drove her extraordinary career. 

Decades later, she reached breaking point and realised: “I can’t be this scared anymore.” She shares how she finally broke up with anxiety and why she wishes she had done it 30 years earlier.

She and Davina also explore the growing crisis facing men, why loneliness and social media are leaving us disconnected, and the simple changes Caitlin believes can help us feel hopeful again, from putting down our phones to reconnecting with our communities.

Caitlin also reflects on growing up poor, writing her first novel as a teenager, her 33-year relationship with husband Pete, and the extraordinary night she went clubbing with Lady Gaga.

🌟Like, comment and subscribe for more honest conversations about purpose, resilience, love, loss and beginning again.

Follow us here:

📸www.instagram.com/beginagain 

🎥https://www.tiktok.com/@beginagainpod 

✨Sign up for the Begin Again newsletter for behind-the-scenes access, recommendations and much more: https://linkly.link/2g2xm 

Follow Caitlin here: https://www.instagram.com/mscaitlinmoran/ 

Buy ‘How to be Hopeful - A Year of Attempting to Feel Less Awful About the World’ by Caitlin Moran, Ebury Press, £22

Purchase tickets to Caitlin’s book tour here: https://www.gigantic.com/caitlin-moran-tickets

We'd love you to share your Get Busy Living stories with us at https://getbusyliving.beginagainshow.com/

(00:00) Intro

(01:11) Caitlin's New Book

(03:22) The Impact Of "How To Be A Woman"

(06:09) Foreseeing The Masculinity Crisis

(09:15) Being An Enthusiast vs. A Critic

(12:01) Writing About Hope

(13:00) The Value Of In-Person Connection

(18:56) Monzo GBL Ad

(20:27) Developing Anxiety At 13

(24:50) Learning To Write

(27:03) The Journey Out Of Poverty

(31:57) Her First Publishing Deal

(35:14) Monzo 90 Days Ad

(36:23) Caitlin's 'How To Be Hopeful' List

(43:11) Do This To Improve Your Own Happiness

(52:05) Clubbing In Berlin With Lady Gaga

(57:37) Finally Getting Over Anxiety

(01:02:49) Her 26 Year Marriage

(01:08:40) Inclusive Forms Of Feminism

Sponsored by:

Download Monzo. Monzo Current Accounts are for 16+ and UK residents. Ts&Cs Apply.

Join the 'Say Yes Club' and hear more about our events here - https://events.beginagainshow.com/ 

You could get back less than you invest. Monzo current account required. Monzo investments are for UK residents, 18+. Ts&Cs apply.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to this podcast

• Apple Podcasts
• Apple Podcasts
• RSS Feed