Insights on Addiction, Body Image, and Environmental Responsibility
Liv Maudsley explores the profound impacts of social media, mental health struggles, and the importance of self-awareness, while shedding light on generational differences and the ongoing journey towards understanding and inclusion.
Welcome to Inclusion Bites, your sanctuaryfor bold conversations that spark change. I'm Joanne Lockwood,your guide on this journey of exploration into the heart ofinclusion, belonging, and societal transformation.Ever wondered what it truly takes to create a world whereeveryone not only belongs but thrives? You're notalone. Join me as we uncover theunseen, challenge the status quo, and sharestories that resonate deep within. Ready to divein? Whether you're sipping your morning coffee or winding downafter a long day, let's connect, reflect,and inspire action together. Don't forget,you can be part of the conversation too. Reach out tojo.Lockwood@seechangehappen.co.ukto share your insights while you join me on the show.So adjust your earbuds and settle in. It's time toignite the spark of inclusion with Inclusion Bites.And today is episode 129 with thetitle Wisdom on the School Run, and I have theabsolute honor and privilege to welcome Liv Maudsley.Liv is the cohost of the School Run podcastand a college student. When I asked Liv to describe her superpower,she said she would say she has the wisdom to look atall perspectives, and she loves to understand why someone has acertain opinion or belief or feels a certain way.Hello, Liv. Welcome to the show. Oh, hi. Thanks for
Liv Maudsleyguest
having me. Absolute pleasure. I I'm pretty
Joanne Lockwoodhost
sure you hold the record for being my youngest guest.
Liv Maudsleyguest
Oh, yeah. I like that. And I was
Joanne Lockwoodhost
the I have the privilege of being invited onto your school run podcast just recently.So Yeah. Yeah. How does it feel to be in the other otherseat, you know, in the as a guest? It feels really
Liv Maudsleyguest
a bit out of control. Usually, I'm the 1, you know, askingthe questions, but, you know, the tables have turned a littlebit. Excellent. I'm looking forward to this. So
Joanne Lockwoodhost
we call this episode Wisdom on the School Run. The School Run is the nameof your podcast that you run cohost with your was it yourmom that you run it with? Yeah. So tell me more about Wisdom on theSchool Run and your perspective around understanding other people'sbeliefs. So tell me more. So, yeah, Wisdom on the School Run.
Liv Maudsleyguest
So that's mine and my mum's podcast, which we started last yearin February. And it kind of all started becauseI had a really long journey to school. So it was an hour and ahalf then, hour and a half back. And me and my mum,you know, once a week, twice a week, we always used to have a reallyinsightful conversation, I'd tell her something that was going on at school.And she'd give me her wisdom that shehas, you know, obviously got over time and throughbeing a CEO. And I'd also give hermy wisdom as, you know, being 17, what Icould try and give from my perspective. And so wethought, why not put it onto a podcast and bring guests on, andthen they can share their life story and theirwisdom to try and help people to seethings from a different perspective. So yeah.
Joanne Lockwoodhost
From your perspective, obviously, what do you see as some of thethe key differences in the way people see the world from asomeone maybe your age under 20compared with someone who's over 40, over 50? What what's the key differences youthink? I think my generation or
Liv Maudsleyguest
maybe, you know, me personally, I thinkwe've had a lot more there's been a lot moreeducation, a lot more awarenessaround more topics that I would say maybe, like, mygrandma, or my mom didn't have when they were atschool. However, my grandma, I really love her. I thinkshe's she's like unique in a generation. She reallyloves to understand the younger generation and and kinda whatmakes them tick as well, which I really love. She's notstuck in her ways or or very traditional. She really wants tounderstand, which I think is really, really lucky. And interms of, you know, inclusion, diversity, anda lot of things, our generation, mygeneration can be it'sit's difficult with social media. I think it's a great thing,great for education. However, there'salso a lot of judgment and a lot of people putting out theiropinions and people judging them on that, and that's, Iguess, a challenge that older generations haven't reallyhad with social media before. Yeah. I grew up. I mean, I was born
Joanne Lockwoodhost
in 1965. That's a a lifetime ago for me, but, youknow, a distant memory. Not not not even a memory for you.Probably not far off the same age as your grandma, I guess.Jo, yeah, I mean, we had no Internet. We had no mobile phones.When we were out, we were out. We were gone. There's nothing no way oftracking us down. My mom would phone around all my friends seeing if I wasthere, and we Jo, there's no there's no GPS tracking. There's nonothing. Yeah. You you turn up at 10 o'clock at night late by 3hours for your tea, and my mom will be on the doorstep, wagging her fingerat you, wondering where you've been. Jo, yeah, it's it's different. Yeah. Peopleknow where you are. People know what you're doing. They know what you have forbreakfast now, don't they? Because you're you're sharing it all the time. Must must bea a real challenge, you know, being a teenager or being a young person,having that much visibility on your life by not just yourparents, but but the world. Yeah. But every I mean,
Liv Maudsleyguest
I think every generation, you know, we all haveour different challenges and things that my grandma would haveexperienced or my great grandma I could have never imagined andand vice versa the same way. So I would I don't think I'd ever sayyou know 1 generation's had it easier than the other or someonestruggling more than the other because I think, you know, we've all had ourdifferent experiences. But with social mediais you you really see everybit of someone's life. And I for me,I had TikTok and and Snapchat, and Idon't have TikTok anymore. I don't have Snapchat either becauseI'm not kind of like a social mediaperson. Very much, I spend a lot of my time with myfamily, friends. I love kind ofhuman contact and and conversations.I'm not and I could feel myself when I had TikTok. I probably gotit to feel part of everyone,part of the trend. Everyone's got TikTok. Everyone's on it. So that'sprobably why I got it to fit in. And then butI could feel myself at night scrolling and scrolling forhours and hours and hours and I just didn't for me I justdidn't like that. I didn't like how I'd wake up then reallytired and how it was just unproductiveuse of my time. So I was like, I'm just gonna delete it,and I'm gonna delete Snapchat too. And that was where alot of my friends messaged. So I did feel, oh, what if I'm gonnamiss out? What if they're gonna, you know, get an inside joke and then they'regonna say it at school and I'm not gonna get it? But I thought, doyou know what? For me, I don't wanna beon Snapchat and TikTok all the time. I wanna be in thepresent and and live now.So that's kind of why I got rid ofthose things. So for someone like myself, I I
Joanne Lockwoodhost
the way I use TikTok is I I post clips of my podcast, otherlittle things on there. I very rarely spend any time watchinganybody else. And I'm my Snapchat useis I use the filters sometimes. I use Bitmoji, and I think you have tolog on to get Bitmoji through Snapchat. So that's I'm a very kind ofcasual user. So what what is it about thoseplatforms that is so addictive to people that consumes all this time? Whatdo they give you? I'm not sure. It's
Liv Maudsleyguest
obviously, on there, you've got a lot of different content thatpeople post. Some of it, for me, on my Instagram, it's a lotof educational content, and I learn a lot of things from it, which Ithink is 1 of the reasons why it's so good. And obviously, you'vegot content that's funny and also content into people's lives.And I feel like for everyone, maybe it's it'sdifferent. Some for some people, I know that some of my friends, theirphone is like an escape from the real worldAnd they think, well, TikTok, I can look intosomeone else's life and and I'd I can get out of my lifefor a while. And I have heard that's how some of my friends view it,which I've never seen it that way before, I would goaround and I'd say, oh, you're on your phone all the time, like a parent,and say, get off your phone or stop being antisocial.And then when 1 of my friends said that to me, I was like, that'sreally interesting. Imagine really notwanting to be in your life so much that you spend all yourtime looking at someone else's life. Yeah. I I
Joanne Lockwoodhost
find myself picking my phone up too much. You know? It and I foundmyself I was at a conference and and they had fidget toys on the table.And I picked up a fidget toy, and I was playing with this fidget toy.And then after at the end of the day, I realized that I hadn't pickedmy phone up, because it was somehow something I needed to play with some stimto stimulate me, but my brain was needing to do something. It's a bitlike stimming, I guess, a bit something like that. But I was playing these fidgettoys, and it allowed me to put my phone down. So I recognized that Iam kind of addicted to to touching the phone, being near it, playingwith it, absorbing something from it. And I need to distract mybrain in a different way. So I Joanne imagine how you're sitting thereat night, your doom is scrolling, you're flicking through, you're flicking through, you're flicking through.6 seconds, nah, nah. Oh, yeah. Right. This 1. Yeah. Nah.And, yeah, it just keeps feeding the beast, doesn't it? It knows what you like,knows what you don't like. And it and then it just becomes a
Liv Maudsleyguest
habit. And I know sometimes I'll be outsomewhere and I'll, like, put my hand in my pocket justthrough habit that my phone's there, and I'm thinking, where's my phone?You know, it's usually in that pocket. And I was like, woah. Ican tell I'm I'm addicted to my phone a little bit. Yeah.
Joanne Lockwoodhost
I I started watching a few reel I I still watch reels on Facebook,and I think I clicked on a it's a was it a Pac Joanne bullfrog?And it's basically frogs eating other frogs or frogs eating insectsor insect versus in and suddenly my feet is full of thisinsect wars and and frog wars. It's like, go away. Iwanna see something. Then I find myself gettinglions eating things. It's like so now I've got all these wildlife adventures goingon. It's like they're eating stuff. It's like Jo, no, go away. I want togo back to something normal. It's like it's crazyhow the algorithm gets you, isn't it? It it detects what you've liked. It detectswhat you've watched. And then suddenly I'm seeing this stuff that I was only Iwas only casually browsing. It's like, no. Thank you. Enough now.
Liv Maudsleyguest
Yeah. And and then you just watch 1 video forhowever long, and then suddenly, all your videos are about thatthing and how your phone listens to you as well whichI think is crazy. I was having a conversation with my mumabout you know me driving and taking my driving test. Nextminute I look on my phone, I've got adverts for driving instructors,and and I was like, woah, that's crazy. And
Joanne Lockwoodhost
they all claim they don't do that, but they do it. And there's there's toomuch coincidence. You know? Mhmm. I'm a sometimes, you know, wehave biases that will make us think that it's random and or, you know,random things happen, but I've seen too many examples. My wife, Marie,we've talked about something and all of a sudden it pops up on her phone.It's like, how did that happen? Yeah. It's like, yeah, completely random. So, yeah,there's there's something going on or it'd beentirely something. The only thing I thought about maybe is if I go onto itwith my phone, something tracks my IP address. And when Marie connects onher phone through the Wi Fi, it's using the same IP address. So maybe it'sfeeding it based on an IP address. Yeah. That's the only otherthat's the only other theory I Joanne think of because it it thinks you're thesame person, and, the the the tracking cookiesmaybe hook it up that way. I I don't know. I've I've never got tothe bottom of it, but you're right. Something is listening. Something isdefinitely listening. So the I I said theolder generation. Yeah. The millennials, you know, my my our 2children are millennials, and they grew up in a world where,you know, the time waster was games. Yeah. Not maybe on the phone, butconsole games. My my son had a PlayStation Portable. You know, infact, every every portable gaming device he has, and he he plays them indifferent things. I'll play that on that. I'll play that on that. I was like,really? I can't I can't handle 1 device. So do you findthat things like TikTok and Reels and Insta and those sort of things havereplaced the gaming thing, or do you think there's still there's not only that andthe gaming goes on? I think I'm not sure. I
Liv Maudsleyguest
don't have an Xbox or anything, but I know it's still youknow, my half brother still has an Xbox and my cousinshave Xboxes. I think it's still forfor younger children who may be like on on socialmedia yet, I think it's still big. But then I feel like by the timeyou hit maybe high school or orcollege, it's then a huge thing, you know,to have Snapchat, to have Instagram. And that'speople's main form of communication now, Snapchat forme, because I don't have it. It's WhatsApp. And peopleactually find it really weird if I meet someone new and they say, oh JoanneI be Snapchat? And I'm like, oh I don't have it. And they think,first, they think my mum's really strict and won't let me have it.And they can't get their their head around the fact that I justI had it, and then I deleted it being just because I didn't want it.It's quite funny to see people's reactions when you say, no. I don't haveSnapchat. You'll have to take my number instead. Yeah.
Joanne Lockwoodhost
So I I suppose I'm AAA Facebook generation. I'll I useFacebook Messenger and WhatsApp. Yeah. I wouldn't venture onSnapchat or even as I say, I use TikTokmore of a as a outbound marketing rather than inbound, and they'llconsume me that way. So what what the issues do youperceive for your generation? I'm not saying theentire world of your generation, but your your circle offriends. What what are the big issues that you're worried about insociety, in for the planet, for the workplace? What do youwhat do what do people your generation care about the most? I think
Liv Maudsleyguest
we're very heavy, our generation, on1, mental health and 2,diversity diversity and inclusion. I think they're both 2very hue and and the planet and sustainability. Ithink those 3, I would say, are kind of the main 3 in ourgeneration. With we've had a lot more at highschool, you have a lot more education on it. Forme, I I feel likethere's a line somewhere. I don't know where itis. But with mental health, Ithink our generation has noteveryone has come a bit, and that might be due tosocial media, That anything someonesays can be perceived as offendedor or someone can be offended by something. And then you're in thissituation where anything that you say, whether it's to yourfriends or you post it on Facebook, Instagram, or whatever, isgonna get judged and is gonna get someone's gonna interpret itas attacking someone or, you know,something like that. And for me, I've
Liv Maudsleyguest
done a few courses on mindfulnessand and self development, which taught mekind of it's people project outwhat's going on for them. So it's not necessarily thatsomeone's offending you or or attacking you in anyway, But maybe something's going on for them, andthey that's how they're just expressing how theyfeel. And I think diversity and inclusion is the same.At my high school, obviously a big thing.And I had a few friends that that transition from1 of my best friends, is gay,and, another 1 of our friends in thatfriendship group changed from female tomale. And I forme, I support anyone because I think yourlife is your life and you live it the way you feelmost comfortable to live it. Not dependent on whatother people think about you or anything like that,but how you feel most comfortable. And Iunderstand that maybe at my age, teenagers,a lot of kind of figuring out who you are, a lotof discovery, and maybe that is like some experimentationand not knowing who you are and trying differentthings to understand who you are as a person. ButI also I've seen on TikTok when Ihad it, is it kindof almost becoming a trend,which I really don't like to say, because I really hope that it'snot a trend of and I don't know whether it's,it's people feel like they have to do it for attention to fit in.I'm not sure. And I'm not saying it's it's right or wrong. But Ithink it can take away from those people whogenuinely feel, you know, if they're transitioning or ifthey're gay or if they genuinely feel that somethingabout them is is not right. And,yeah, from my generation, that's howit's it seems for me, which might be different toyou because I'm sure it what is not atrend. But, yeah, that's I think thoseissues, it's just how weteach children and and in education in schoolsa different way of looking at it, if that makes sense.
Joanne Lockwoodhost
Yeah. I I mean, I grew up in an era where selfawareness, self reflection, understanding who youare, what your ambitions are, what makes you happy, what makes you sad, it justwasn't really part of life. Youyou you were a child, you you you were brainy,you were you were artistic, you had you were characterized more by what youdid and what career you took, but you never selfanalyzed. You just ended up falling into what you were good at, notwhat made you happy, not what made it give you passion. That's how I endedup doing electronics because my mum thought I was good at electronics,but really my passion was photography. I never never explored it.So, yeah, we never really talked about feelingsor or needs in that way. We were just waiting for the schoolbell. We'd go and play in the park and, and disappear for a couple ofhours, get on our bikes, cycle home. So, yeah, I think I thinktoday, there's more awareness of of of who who we are asindividuals, aren't we? Not not just around our our gender orsexuality, but also culturally, what matters to us,doesn't it? I think that's I think I think it's wonderful. I think it's amazingthat we're now We're taking time to figure ourselves out rather thanwaiting till we're in our forties and going, I've been doing this life for 40years now, and I I should've I should've stopped years ago and had another goat it. Yeah. Yeah. You you've I'm sure you're you feel far moreempowered to say, no. That's not working for me. I'm gonna just say different now.
Liv Maudsleyguest
Yeah. I think I think, yeah,that's how I I feel. And I think for me, I'vebeen really lucky because my mum, especially,and my family are all very supportiveof do what you love, You know? Do what you'repassionate about. Whether whether you're good at it or not,do what you love because because then the the drive towork hard, the drive to push through andcarry on will will come from passionand love for what you're doing. So I've been really lucky in that sensethat I've had that instilled in me from a very youngage. So naturally then when myfriends are saying, you know, my mum, she wants me to do this and shewants me to go to uni and she wants me to get this job,I always chat to them and I say, yeah, but what do youwant to do? Like, this is your life, you know, it'snot it's not your mum's, it's not your dad's, it's not your carers, it's notanyone else's, it's yours and you need to spendthe time that you have, which as humans is quitesure, the time that you have doing something that you really, reallyenjoy to make the most out of your life. But
Joanne Lockwoodhost
here in the media, old people, from your perspective, oldpeople, So we've become far too woke as asociety where we're pandering to the minorities. We'rewe're giving you these minority voices too muchand we be going back to old traditional values and justget on with stuff. What's the feeling that you get fromlistening to that kind of stuff coming back at you if you like?
Liv Maudsleyguest
I think because each of our generationshave has grown up very differently and we've allgot different morals, different things that we'repassionate about based on, you know, the experiences that we'velived. You know, for me, I can't sayanything how I feel on, like, a world war because I'venever experienced 1. So I don't know what it is like to go towar or to to live in that situation. Sotherefore, I can't say if someone's done somethingin a right or wrong way because I wouldn't know. I justthink I can understand from fromolder generations looking at us. I hear a lot thatwe're, you know, the snowflake generation andwe're very maybe because we're so wereally wanna help the planet and diversity and inclusion,and that's not been traditional becauseolder generations haven't had the education or or awareness ofthat. I don't think either 1 is right orwrong. I just think they can seewe we don't wanna be dividing us by, youknow, what we believe and our opinions, and I don'tthink it's right to say you're right and I'm wrong.I'm right and you're wrong because then we're never gonna live, youknow, together as 1. There's always gonna be, youknow, clashes and people not liking things.So I think it's important to understand that us as aas a younger generation, just respectfor for our old generations and an understanding that,you know, not to judge them by by what they say or whatthey're calling us because their experience is different. And tounderstand they have the right to that opinion, you know, whether we like itor not, they're gonna say what they're gonna say and that's absolutely fine.And the same for the older generation, even though we are younger and we maybe doing things a little bit differently, But just themutual respect for all of us so that wecan live, you know, more united as a as acountry as a world and less conflictand less, you know, wars andand yeah, I think it's important. So you mentioned the
Joanne Lockwoodhost
planet. Do you think the planet will last long enough for you to grow upand enjoy it? It's an interesting
Liv Maudsleyguest
question for me. I I'venot compared to my generation, I would say,the planet isn't obviously, I I care about theplanet. However, I don't have haven't had thatmuch education. You obviously hear things on the news and andeverywhere. It's hard to know what's true, what's not true, you know, what tobelieve. I think I do Alevel economics and we have been talking about obviously sustainabilityand, you know electric cars and and all those thingsand I think it's important that we understand not totake the world for granted nowbecause the things that we wehave in this world and the amazingnature and the land that we have, which youknow is getting built over with houses, you know, which is whichis obviously needed for people that don't have homes. ButI do sometimes look at the nature and think like look how amazing thisis and we're not doing much tohelp it right now. And it's so beautiful, and weshould be super, super grateful for the world thatwe live in and for the for the things that we havewhich people before us haven't had. No. It
Joanne Lockwoodhost
was when I when I was growing up and all my life until probably thelast 4 or 5 years, it was never on the agenda, never big enough. Youknow? Recycling and things like that have started to become moremore obvious. We have different kind of bins we put inside the house where we'reencouraged to put 1 in the other and presift and presortand rinse our milk bottles out. Well, milk comes out before we put them ina cycling list. To to me, that's kind of an alien thing. It's kind ofI've had to relearn. But you're growing in a world where that that's kind ofthe normal, isn't it? That's our daughter. She has all the recycling indifferent color bins in her kitchen.If I'm if I'm a bit confused, I'll just put it into general and don'tworry about it. Yeah. I I
Liv Maudsleyguest
wanna I wanna oh, go on. I was just saying, I
Joanne Lockwoodhost
I don't I don't understand all the different labels. I I haven't put enough timeand effort into understanding what is, what isn't. I I know that often theplastic lid or the or the plastic that you peel off of AAAready meal or something, the plastic lid generally isn't recyclable, but thebase is. I kind of ask my rule. If if it if I rip itoff, it's generally not recyclable. If it's the base, then it generally is.That's that's kind of how I do it, as a Yeah.
Liv Maudsleyguest
I was gonna say the same thing. When I'm at college, you've got 2 differentbins, and I'm thinking, what is general waste and what'srecyclable? And what I don't know which bit of this is recyclable.
Joanne Lockwoodhost
Yeah. And I was hoping Lockwood be an expert on it. Is that is thatyeah. Which, unfortunately, I'm not.Well, that that just highlights though the challenge we have ifwe're gonna build this kind of mentality into our onto ourpsyche, isn't it? It's it's how do we get people to take responsibilityand true responsibility for the planet, for environment,for recyclable. Because, yeah, the government was backtracking onelectric vehicles. So, oh, no. We can't do 2030. It's too tricky. We'llpush it back to 2040 or something and think, hang on a minute. If it'simportant for 2030, why are we pushing it back? Is it is it difficult?
Liv Maudsleyguest
And I feel like it's difficult then. It's kind of like mixedmessages then. And I know my stepdadis very into his cars, very into his cars. Andhe's also a firefighter. And he has a love hate relationship withelectric cars because when an electric carsets on fire, it's impossible to put it out.Like, you can't it just burns and burns and burns andburns. And he went to a fire, and it was an electric car,and just you just can't put 1 out.
Joanne Lockwoodhost
Now the lithium creates a chain reaction, doesn't it? And it becomes likea self sustaining I mean, I remember physics at school,and they used to drop sodium and thatinto into water, and you'd see it race around around. Lithium is kind of itcomes up with it, you got platinum and other thing and other otherions. And lithium's higher up the scale, so you drop that in water.
Liv Maudsleyguest
Bang. Yeah. It it creates AAA big explosion. So, yeah,
Joanne Lockwoodhost
it is. So, yeah, I I can understand that they are dangerous.And Yeah. At least for the petro fire, you can kind of put a petrofire out. Yeah. But, yeah, lithium. It's
Liv Maudsleyguest
again that use of as much as electric cars arebetter for the environment, and I know it it'll be a smallamount that's set on fire, but obviously then thatuse the public services on a lot of resourcesgo into putting out a fire of an electric car, which, youknow, can't be put out. Yeah. I I guess we
Joanne Lockwoodhost
gotta adapt to play catch up with newtechnology and how we deal with it. It's a bit like we have we hadto come to terms with overuse of mobile phones, overuse of Internet,overuse of this. We've we've had the processes and policies catchup later, don't they? And, you know, So you said earlier about tryingto filter out what's true and not true. It's really interesting when you youpicked up on that. How how do you judge what is true, what is nottrue? What is Joanne opinion? What is a perspective? And what is afact? What tools do you use to do that? It's it's
Liv Maudsleyguest
difficult and for me doing economicsobviously a lot about I think I'm the only student inthat class that doesn't watch the news.Because for me, I never know what is,what to believe, what's not, what's slanted, whatisn't. And I think it's really,really difficult. And you can understand whya lot of us have so many different beliefs, because it's dependenton like so many different things. How you've been brought up, what yourparents believe, what their opinions are, also whatwho you spend your time with, and what you watch on TV,on your phone, all these things. Like I know a lot of my friends now,they get the news from TikTok. And you think how much ofthat news is is real news? And how much is,you know, just fake, all fake news?And I think it's really difficult to know thedifference. And for me I just I guess I'm always cautious.If I hear something that someone said, Iwon't believe it until I've, you know, looked at it myselfor understood where it's come from. I won't make an opinion thereand then. I'm pretty much like the same of that withpeople. If someone said, oh, she's really horrible or he's reallywhatever, I'm always like, I'll neversay, oh yeah, I agree with you, I agree with you. Because forme, you know, we're all individual and I'll, when I meetyou, I'll I'll get to understand who you are. I won't just take someone else'sword for it. So I kind of use that in whatever Ihear just to be a bit cautious and understand,hey. It might not be true. It might it might be true. Yeah. I
Joanne Lockwoodhost
think for me, that's that's fundamentally it's it's recognizing asI think exactly as you said about why someone thinks something, youknow. Is it their their parents, their their environment, their history, theirpolitics, whatever it may be. And it's trying to find the why, isn't it? Tellme why you believe something, and then I can try and figure out if Iagree with you or what I disagree with. Because we we often get clash ourheads around the belief Yeah. Not the not thewhy. The why. Because if I can understand why you thinksomething, I don't have to agree with you. But I understand why, and thenwe can we can be friends because your your why is different to my why.That's fine. Yeah, so like for me I
Liv Maudsleyguest
also think when you see someone that's really passionate aboutsomething or has a really strong belief, I always think,like you said, you've got a reason. There must be some reason why they'reso passionate about that. Like for me, I had anorexia for2 years, and I'm very passionate about, you know,eating disorders and very aroundfood. And I have a lot of younger cousins and Ialways whenever, you know, my auntieor whoever will say, you know, chocolate'sbad for you or, you know, don't eat too much of that. Jo, you haveto go for a run before you can eat that. Like, for me, I won'tsay anything, but inside, because that'ssomething personally that I've experienced, I thenfeel very strongly and passionately towards,towards situations like that. So for someoneelse, when I see that they're really passionate about something, I think, okay, there'ssomething that maybe they've experienced being through sinthat's made them really strongly believe that.And understanding, like you said, why that is.It's alright if you don't agree with it or whether you do, but justto know because then you don't have to say actuallyyou're wrong. Because it's kind of I guess invalidating how theyfeel or their experience that they've had. You mind if I ask you about your
Joanne Lockwoodhost
anorexia? Yeah, sure. So I I
Liv Maudsleyguest
think it was around I was in year 10. I justI just started the summer before year 10, whichwas maybe 20 21, I think.And I played very high level netball, so very competitivesport. I played for the county. I played for 1 of the bestteams in the country. I'm a very competitive personand, you know, at the time, quite a perfectionist aswell. And I would I really wanted I joined this newteam, and I really wanted to do really, really well.And all the girls that were in the team all lived in the sameplace, all knew each other, and I didn't. So I was like, I wanna fitin. None of them were talking to me, and they'd all beenthere for so long that I really needed to bereally good for my coaches and say, look, I am a really good player.So I and that kind of perfectionist competitivein me took me the other way. So Iwould get up at like half 2 and, andcome downstairs really quietly, so like my mum or stepdad didn'tknow. And I'd train from, like, 3 till 6.I'd go to school, and then I'd come back and I'd train from 5 till7 and then have my tea in 8 till 9 every singleday. So I was so justdepleted, and I was literally going crazyjust wanting to do so well. And then I thought I can't can'tdo this anymore. Like, I'm so exhausted.So I gave up Netball and for a week Ifelt kind of free. Oh my gosh, I don't have to, you know, wake upat 3 AM anymore. But then after thatit started, it kind of all went downhill.And I'd kind of never seen you know, my body whatit looks like before as anything other than performancebased. Because for me, I just wanted to perform wellAnd with the netball, you know, you have a lot of muscles, veryexplosive. So then I kept looking in the mirror and I just kept seeinglike this muscle fat, and I was like, I need to get rid of it.Like, I just I don't need it anymore. Like, I'm not playing Netball.So then it slowly started and feedinginto everything you hear from social media, you know, don't eatcarbs, don't do this. Well, stopped eating potatoes, and Istarted having just coffee for my breakfast and going to the gym andrunning on a treadmill for, like, 2 hours. And then it got reallyreally really bad and obviously like my mom was really worriedabout me and she took me to the doctor And theysaid, come back in we they weighed me and said, come back in a week.And then, you know, we'll see. I don't think they took it that seriously. AndI came back the week after, and I lost a stone in a weekbecause I literally I was I was
Liv Maudsleyguest
scared. I was physically scared to eat. And my mom, she was like, come on,babe, you know, you you have to. Like, she was trying so hard and Iwas just like, Jo, I was scared of water because anythingthat made me feel full I was, I was scared of. I don't wantto. And it got really bad and I went tosee an eating disorders from the NHS.And I always I'll always remember this, what hefirst said to me because it really from the moment on Ididn't I didn't like him, and I never listened to anything that he said. Hesaid I looked at you and I wasn't worried, And thenI looked at you stats and I was worried. And I thought, for me,in my head always I'd felt not sick enough to gethelp, not ill enough. And I've just come in and you've said,you you looked at me and you're not worried. So that's just mademe think, oh, so I'm not goodenough to get help. I'm not sick enough for you to help me because Ilook fine. And it just it just snowballed.It got worse, and I was a week from being admitted tohospital. And I got COVID, and COVID actually kinda saved me in away because I I couldn't go to the appointment. I had to stay at homeand and start eating. And I think peopletend to think that whenyou've had I think it's a very touchy subject. Peopledon't really like talking about it. I was embarrassed about it for a really longtime. People think you're some sort of freak. You're crazy. Like,why? And they think food is the problem or she just she justmust hate food. And that's like, I love food.Like, if you if you picked me in a lineup, you'd think, well,never, because she loves food. And that's neverreally the problem. It's something around that, like thecontrol to need to control something in your life oror trauma or or something. And I'mcompetitive and and it and it kind of stemmed from that.And then people think it's a linear journey to recovery.It's definitely not. It's it's up and down. It's up and down. Andand finally now I'm getting to kind of aplace where I think, do you know what? Like thisthe body that I have, it's been with me through a lot, andit's kept me alive even though, you know, I didn'twant it to be. And I've got itforever, and I need to, you know, nurture it and cherish itbecause I'm never gonna get another 1. SoI think that's why I'm super passionate about about it. Do you
Joanne Lockwoodhost
still do you look back at that time, and do you understandif you analyze yourself or what you went through? Dodo you understand enough so that you you can trust yourself not to goback? Yeah. I think that is the hardest part.
Liv Maudsleyguest
I think for I think for a lot of people when they'vebeen through something and come out of it, the last thing they wanna do isgo back, into it and experience all the thingsthat they've already experienced once mentally.For me, that was really important because Ineeded to see why, you know, I learned a lot about myself throughthat. I also learned what mypitfalls pitfalls are, what can tip me back a littlebit, what can make me think. You know,naturally, if I'm stressed orsomething, my tendency now isto eat less just from what I've been through, and I can catch myselfin that now. And I understand that about myself. And I think that's the mostimportant thing, like being self aware of who youare to, you know, be a betterperson and be better for yourself and to live your lifeas well as you can do. And I think it's, yeah, it'simportant to analyze not too much that you youtrigger yourself again, but to look and think whyand how I move on from it, I think is important. It must have
Joanne Lockwoodhost
not only been stressful for you, but also stressful for your family tofeel that sense of powerlessness, to see youwasting away whatever reacting the way you did.And that feeling of hopelessness. They can't fix you. They can't make you better.They can't even snap you out of it even. Yeah. It'sit's scary for my mom especially.
Liv Maudsleyguest
Obviously, when you've got children, you wanna protect them, you know,you love them. And when you you see yourchild kind of wasting away and notcaring or doing anything about it is is scary. Andshe really tried to do everything she possibly could and my wholefamily. And when when you've got aneating disorder, I can't talk to any other ones because I'm hard atorex.You've got it's like 2 people in your head,and you've got this like 1 person talking to you like constantly saying,you know, you you can't eat that, you know, go for a run,you're not good enough. And that's kind of the person that thenyour family's interacting with. It's not actually you,it's kind of like someone else and it you're completelydifferent from who you usually are.And it was so difficult. And I love my family so much, andI wouldn't wanna hurt them, and I don't wanna make them upset.And my mom was obviously so upset at that time,which I kind of felt even worse about. I was like, I feel sobad that I'm, you know, making this sodifficult for you. But Ithink I'm so lucky that I had that supportbecause if I didn't, I think it would have been completelydifferent. And my family really really fought for me, foughtfor me not to go into hospital because they they wanted me to stay athome. And I thinkI'm just so lucky to have them. And,yeah, I'm just lucky. Yeah. I know. Yeah. I
Joanne Lockwoodhost
I've met your mom. She's she's an amazing person. So we were talking justbefore we came on air about I'm off to the cinema after discussingInside Out 2. Yeah. As you were speaking around how you hadthese 2 characters in your head, the ones communicating with the outside, the onessort of, like, in the inside, I used to think about my lifein those sort of terms as well where I had these and then when Isaw the film Inside Out, the first 1, I suddenly went, that'sexactly it. That little red angry personis what's running my running my mind. And thenwhat you have to do is you have to put the little red angry personinto the chairs, settle them down, and then joy comes out,and then the world's a better place. And I really felt that difference whereI understood all the little characters in my head, who was driving me, whowas controlling me, and which 1 I actually wanted todo the drive. And and the character in InsideOut is Jo. And III realized that that was the character thatalways should have been in control of me, but I let the angry 1 orlet the other 1 or let, yeah, let the other ones take over. Thesudden realization about those characters and how I wascommunicating and how I was acting was a a real wake up call for me.I think it sounds like the same. You had this Yeah. Different different people inyour head here. 1 1 of them hacked through the control unit andyou're going, no. No. No. The other 1 should be driving, not not you.
Liv Maudsleyguest
Yeah. And and kind of when kind of like theangry 1 is Jo, you know driving you so much itkind of like the joy gets smaller and smaller and smaller andquieter and quieter. And I think forme peep- people say you can never fullyrecover from an eating disorder, you know, it's impossible, you can't do it. AndI, whether that's right or wrong, I choose not to believe itbecause I think, do you know what? I can fully recoverbecause this is I'm not gonna let this, you know, takeover my life completely because it it has done once and it's not goingto again, and I make that decision for myself.And I think each of our experiences and peoplego through a lot of things in life. And each of ourexperiences teach us something and teach us something aboutourselves to then help us for something lateron. And I always think, you know, everything happens for a reason.What is meant to be will be. And I always say,Jo, I think that happened for a reason because now I canopenly talk about and try and help people as much as I Joanne.Help my younger cousins, friends, because I have theI'm able to empathise with that now and and onreally understand why, which maybe otherpeople might not. But I think you should always tryand run with with joy in theforefront of your head. I think it's I think it's superimportant because life's too shortto always be angry, always be upset. You know? Lifeis about living and and enjoying it. So Iagree. Yeah. Fantastic. Going back to what
Joanne Lockwoodhost
we're talking about earlier, this this this true, not true, this true,false, this information, and and I guess you have been in asituation where you were telling yourselfan an untruth and and and reinforcing it without stepping back and going,why do I think that? And Yeah. It sounds like the recovery wasall around self analysis, understanding the lie you were telling yourselfYeah. And setting yourself up for a way that's,that isn't bringing you joy. So yeah. Do do you still playNetball now? Do you go back and Yeah. I I was
Liv Maudsleyguest
the college captain, 1st yearcaptain of my team. First time I ever went back to Netballin September last year and I was I was reallyscared, I was really scared of myself. Obviously thenI had knee surgery Jo I kind of again had another littlebreak, But I think I put so much pressure on myselfthe first time I played netball, I learned from that and I thought do youknow what I started off playing netball because I loved itand and that love went away. And I had that timeoff, and I've come back, and I love it even more than evernow because I think I don't need to put pressure on myself. I don'tneed to be the best 1 at college. I don't need to win every match.I don't need to, you know, because I just love to play it andthat's what it should be about. If you're falling out oflove with something, then take a breakor think, well, why am I falling out of love with something?Because the reason I started was because I loved it.And, you know, sometimes you just wanna get back to, I just wanna love itagain. So sometimes taking a little break can canhelp that. What position do you play? I, I started off asa shooter and then got told I was too short to be a shooter.So now I'm in defence like my auntie. Soshe's very happy. She converted me into a defender.
Joanne Lockwoodhost
Our daughter played netball. She used to represent her school. I don't think she evergot to county, but she I think she played with the guides for a fairbit. And she used to do some she used to captain a couple of teams.And I think she was in gold gold defense as well. So she waseven though she's relatively tall, I think she she was always more comfortablein defense. So yeah. No. She's we're often driving around thetown. She said, I used to play netball there. I remember we played that school.We played that school, and it's sort of like yeah. Yeah. She remembers themall. But, yeah, it was it was a big part of her life, and shestill talks very very warmly about her Netball memories. A lot of us a lotof her friends that she'd meet met and really keeps in touch with now herbridesmaids at the wedding were all netball teammates and things.So, yeah, she's really passionate about it. That's lovely.So you're 17 years old. Yeah. You're doingyou're doing economics a level. Is that right? Yeah. Where where are youheading? Yeah. You're you're fantastically articulate. You've got a lotof lot of, I don't know, wisdom in your shoulders.Where does where does the world where do you fit in the world? What whatwhat's gonna bring you joy in the future? At
Liv Maudsleyguest
this point right now, I'm not sure. The the podcastbrings me joy. I love talking to people. I lovetrying to help people. So I really wanna, you know, give that my time andenergy and see where it can go because I think it's becauseI just love to do it. I think aftermy a levels, gonna take a gap year maybe.I'm going to look at some universities this weekend and a fewweekends after, you know, to see what it's like. ButI'm not sure completely anything
Liv Maudsleyguest
specific. I'm not like, yeah. Do you know what? I wanna be a doctor orI wanna be a vet or anything like that. I just think, youknow, what's gonna happen is gonna happen and I'll end up in the rightplace because for me as a person the importantthings is that you know who you are and what your valuesare and what your morals are, not necessarily, you know, what you want to bebecause I think then your morals can drive you in whatever youdecide to do. You know, for me, I know that I'm a hardworker and I know that I'm determined, so I know that whatever I end updoing, I'll do it to the best of my ability.And I'm just excited for the unknown, you know? Who knows what's gonnahappen tomorrow, but I think that's quite an exciting thing. I
Joanne Lockwoodhost
love that. I love that. I I spent a lot of my my lifehaving it mapped out. Not not forced on me, butexpectations were set. And I was on this path and on this road,and it was kind of like the destination was all. And I Ihad the opportunity or the luxury or the privilege to be able to stepoff and Jo, hang on a minute. I don't wanna go there. I want tosay different. I'm not not comfortable in who I am. Let's figure this out.So for you to have that self awareness at your age now to say, doesn'tmatter. Let me figure it out. I'm I'm I'm I know I'm clever. I knowI can do stuff. I know I work hard. I know I'm determined. And whateverI wanna do, I'll know I'll be good at it. That's a that's a reallyfantastic outlook on life, and you don't need to decide. I'mquite envious of you in your youth, having allthat opportunity ahead of you to just as I Jo with mydaughter, you know, I I spend my life winking it at the moment. You know?I don't have to have a plan beyond beyond what I'm doing next. As longas I know what I'm doing next, I don't care what's happening next week ornext month or next year. People say, do you wanna book a holiday? I go,holiday. When do you think about it? 6 months' time. I said, can we waittill the day before, please? I I might have what I wanna do then. Yeah.I don't like to have it. I don't like to have my life life mappedout. It's it's too constraining, isn't it? It is.
Liv Maudsleyguest
Yeah. But I guess for for some people, that's, you know,how they like it. They like to know the next steps, andI think both ways are, you know, equally good just depending onwho you are. And for me, how I've been brought with my mom, which I,you know, won't stop talking about because she'sshe's always been there for me, you know, since I was little, and she'staught me. A lot of the wisdom I have is definitely from her,and I'm just lucky that, you know, I've got her, and she's she'salways there to give me good advice. Maybe not necessarily whatI wanna hear, but what I need to hear. And,yeah, and who knows what's gonna happen, and it'll be excitingeither way. It will be. Yeah. I can't I'd
Joanne Lockwoodhost
love to keep in touch and see see where you Jo. But, yeah, it's fascinating.And you've got some great skills. You know, the wisdom, the way you see theworld, your ability to connect with people, the ability to talk,the ability to be interested in people. That's I think that's half the battle.Yeah. Actually interested in other people, their perspectives, and finding outmore. I think we we lack that sometimes in the humanity.We we're too busy caught in our own world not thinking about the others. Ithink all those skills you have are absolutely fantastic andwhatever you do, you'll succeed at. And, Oh, thank you. Yeah. Soyeah. So the what's what's what's next for the school runpost, podcast? You you've been doing a year and a half. You're gonna carry ondoing that through through college or university? Yeah. I'm gonna
Liv Maudsleyguest
carry my school on podcast. We've just got our domain name for ourwebsite, which is super exciting. We were supposed to have anevent this year, but because of my surgeries, we'regonna push it to next year. And I'm gonna continue tothrough my a levels. Can't give it the time that I want to because,obviously, revising. But after that,for me, it's always, like, whatever I do,who knows what would happen if you didn't give it everything that you'vegot. So whatever happens with it, for me, aslong as I know I gave it everything that I possibly could, andif it turns out to be amazing, brilliant, andif it turns out to just stay the size that it is,well, that's also amazing, and I can, you know, seewhat else I can venture onto.
Joanne Lockwoodhost
Are you gonna upgrade it to university girl or something likethis? Or That's a good point. Everyone's like, what are you gonna do when you're
Liv Maudsleyguest
not on a school run anymore? I'm like, oh, we don'tknow. Campus conversations or something. It's just
Joanne Lockwoodhost
you trying to find a trying to find a new title. Iguess a lot of your audience is gonna age with you, isit? Are you so your your your your genre that you're talkingabout now is is is aging with you. Maybe the moms who listento you now and the children in the car and the school run, they'rethey're they're like you. They're they're 2 years older, and, their life isgrowing as well. Yeah. And we called it the score 1 because we thought, you
Liv Maudsleyguest
know, everyone can relate whether you've had a score onyourself, school on with your children, grandchildren, and wethought everyone can relate to that, so I think it's a nicename to you know, call and I think the school runs whether yougo in a car, whether you walk, whether you're on the bus, it'sit's always I think a nice part of the day, Sowe thought why not? Let's go out to the school room. Yeah. I think I
Joanne Lockwoodhost
think it's fantastic. It does what it says on the tin. I think it's good.Are you worried about being old? You know, you go to university. You're you're beingoldie, weren't you? People are pretty happy. It's like being last year atschool. You know, the youngsters are just coming at year, whatever, year 5 or 6,whatever they joined school. Looking up and you go, oh, yeah. You're the you're theseniors now. You're the seniors now. You're the seniors now. You're getting me old, aren't
Liv Maudsleyguest
you? You're getting me old. I am. I mean, forme, it's crazy. I turn 17, and I'm starting to learn how to jive, andI'm like, woah. This happened fast? You know?Feel like I'm growing up now. Wow. Less than a
Joanne Lockwoodhost
year, you'd be an adult. Yeah? Yeah. I know. I Do stuff. Go for abit. Go for a drink. Go have a glass of wine in the pub. Yeah.Before you know it, you're like me. You're nearly 60. How did that happen? I'm
Liv Maudsleyguest
sure up here until 20. How did how did how did I become 60?It's ridiculous. It's it's crazy. It's like not allowed.
Joanne Lockwoodhost
Jo, yeah, try and keep yourself young. You know, it's it's yeah, you've got you'vegot you've got most people of my age or older, I talk tothem and they're still the same schoolgirls, still the same schoolboyin their heads. Yeah. How you think doesn't reallychange fundamentally who you are. Okay. You get a lot of life experiences, you geta lot of different thinking going on. But I talked to my mum and she'swhat? 17 Jo. She's 85 now.And deep down she's still a young woman. She's still a young girl. She stillthinks and excited by the same stuff. So Yeah. It's just thatyour legs fail. Your hearing fails. Your eyesight's failing. Yeah. Youcan't it just don't work. You try to stand up and it would be aclick. Yeah. That happens. But fundamentally,inside, behind the eyes, you're still you're still the same person.Important to remember that joy element, isn't it, and just Yeah. Keep going back toit and say, let's think who I am really. I'm still that young kid. Stillwanna play footy. Still wanna play netball. Still wanna run around the park. Still wannaget my knees dirty. So, Liv, it'sbeen absolutely fantastic. We've had an hour and a bit together and chatting away andand plus the school run podcast we did the other week. How do people geta hold of you? How do people check out the School Run podcast? How dopeople email you? Or are you are you on LinkedIn? Yeah.
Liv Maudsleyguest
So we've got a school run podcast is on all podcastplatforms, Apple and Spotify. It's just the schoolrun, with Liv and Jane. We're onInstagram, the school run_official. Ourwebsite, which is not there yet, but it will be, and it'll be schoolrun.co.edotcom. Schoolrun.com.And, yeah, LinkedIn. I'm on LinkedIn, OliviaMaudsley, my mom as well, Jane James,and our School Run is also on LinkedIn as well, the School Run podcast.So get in touch with us. I'll have a little listen to 1of our episodes. Brilliant. I'll put all of the details in
Joanne Lockwoodhost
the show notes Jo people will listen to this. They can click on it, makecontact. Yeah. It's, and, obviously, subscribe to the School Run Podcastas well, and and you can listen to the episode with me, which would befantastic. Yeah. Joabsolutely fantastic. Thank you so much. Thank you.
Joanne Lockwoodhost
As we bring this conversation to a close, I want toexpress my deepest gratitude to you, our listener,for lending your ear and heart to the cause ofinclusion. Today's discussion struck a chord,consider subscribing to Inclusion Bites Joanne become part ofour ever growing community, driving real change.Share this journey with friends, family, and colleagues. Let's amplifythe voices that matter. Got thoughts,stories, or a vision to share? I'm all ears.Reach out to jo.lockwood@seechangehappen.co.uk,and let's make your voice heard. Until next time.This is Joanne Lockwood signing off with a promise to returnwith more enriching narratives that challenge, inspire,and unite us all. Here's to fostering a more inclusive world,
In this episode of The Inclusion Bites Podcast, Joanne Lockwood hosts an enriching conversation with Liv Maudsley, touching on various aspects of social media's influence, addiction, and personal journeys of recovery. Liv, a vibrant college student and co-host of The School Run podcast, introduces insightful perspectives on how different generations interact with social media and the broader implications on mental health and societal expectations. Joanne brings her own experiences into the discussion, exploring how algorithms shape our viewing habits and the pervasive nature of targeted advertising. Together, they untangle the complexities of digital life and its effects on modern society.
Liv Maudsley is no stranger to the pressures of today's world. A talented netball player who switched positions due to external perceptions about her height, Liv opens up about her struggle with anorexia triggered by the competitive nature of her sport and societal pressures for perfection. She recounts the harrowing journey through her eating disorder, the lack of adequate support during her recovery, and the ongoing challenges she faces in maintaining wellness. Beyond her battles, Liv remains a passionate advocate for mental health, inclusion, and sustainability, bringing a youthful yet profoundly wise voice to the episode. Her efforts extend to her podcast, The School Run, where she and her mother share poignant life insights and engage with guests to provide diverse perspectives to their audience.
Throughout their conversation, Joanne and Liv cover an array of significant topics. They discuss the addictive qualities of social media, the generational divide in digital engagement, and the pressing environmental concerns that loom over the future. Liv's decision to delete TikTok and Snapchat becomes a focal point, highlighting her quest for a more present and meaningful existence. The dialogue also explores the challenges of discerning truth from misinformation, the evolving attitudes toward recycling and sustainability, and the mutual need for intergenerational understanding.
A key takeaway from this episode is the crucial balance between digital engagement and mental well-being. Listeners will gain valuable insights into managing the pressures of social media, fostering genuine connections, and advocating for both personal and planetary health. Whether you're navigating your own digital habits or supporting someone through recovery, this episode offers meaningful guidance to enrich your journey. Tune in to hear Liv's poignant story and join the conversation on creating a more inclusive and mindful world.
The views and opinions expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Inclusion Bites, SEE Change Happen Ltd or Joanne Lockwood. This episode is shared for general interest and discussion; we accept no responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of any statements made.
