Dr Alex George on not letting Dyslexia hold him back; protecting mental health and the the loss of his brother

A&E Doctor, reality TV star and author Dr Alex George joins Kate to talk about being a mental health campaigner, coping with the sudden loss of his younger brother and his new childrens book A Better Day .

White Wine Question Time with Kate Thornton is the podcast that brings together well-known guests to answer three thought-provoking questions over three glasses of wine. Discover the friendships behind the entertainment headlines, and listen in on their conversations for a side to the celebrities you've never heard before. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts, and follow on Instagram (@whitewineqt) & Twitter (@WhiteWineQT) to keep up to date with the latest guests, news and more.

Video transcript

ALEX GEORGE: Writing a book, to be honest, is probably one of the things that I was like-- I'm like-- honestly, when I wrote the first adult book, I was like, what am I doing? Like, how am I doing this? This feels so wrong for me to be doing it because it's so out of my comfort zone.

And there's lots-- there are other dyslexic authors that have done the same. But actually going against that and going, do you know what? I'm going to learn how to adapt and be able to do this, and bring in support.

And I hope for anyone listening that is dyslexic as well, don't let these things stop you. That you can be a doctor. You can be a lawyer. You can be whatever you want to be. You can write books. Don't let it stop you. Just bring in the support you need to help you through it. It's not always easy, but you can do it.

How do we manage our screen time. How do we practically actually protect ourselves is a very different story from knowing it's good. And we might say, OK, being in nature, of course, that's good for you. OK, so how much time do you spend each week in nature? When do you actually go outside? How many hours do you actually spend sitting inside on your phone?

- With the passing of your brother, you were stripped back to the very basic core of who you are.

ALEX GEORGE: The first few days afterwards, I-- well, for days, I couldn't eat. I couldn't sleep. I couldn't think of anything. Literally, going and brushing your teeth is a start. Physically eating a meal is a start. And it sounds-- people are like, seriously? But no, that was a mountain to climb those first few weeks.

You can't go through things that are difficult and traumatic, and expect your brain and your body to just go, oh, do you know what then? That's fine. Let's just get on with it tomorrow. And if you do try and do that, you're in a sure fire way to burning out. And that's no fun thing.

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