Episode #6
Talking Taboos: Unruly Bowls and breaking the silence on poo
In this episode of Talking Taboos: The Podcast, we're live from the Unruly Bowels event that we ran back in 2024. It brought together lived experience, health expertise and industry to talk about one of the most universal taboos… a topic that makes many of us very uncomfortable to talk about: poo! Taboos aren't just difficult topics, they are systems of silence, sustained by embarrassment and shame, that isolate people from the people around them and from the help they need. As our guests explain, when it comes to bowel health, that silence can be the difference between an early diagnosis and a late one. We hear first from Kat, Director of Talking Taboos and Priscilla, a lived experience advocate, sharing their stories of real life with invisible chronic illnesses, the years of normalising symptoms, the fear of what a Google search might reveal, and the moment a friendship opened up simply because they finally had the right words to describe what they were going through. We're then joined by Amy from Cancer Research UK, who unpacks why shame and judgement keep people from speaking to their doctor about their symptoms , and why "don't be embarrassed" is often exactly the wrong message to send. Claire and Matt from the Andrex marketing team talk us through their "Get Comfortable" campaign and why a brand best known for a cute puppy and loo roll decided it had a responsibility to help the country talk more openly about its own body. And finally, Nena, a functional medicine health coach,talks about how she can better help her clients when they talk more openly about poo and makes the case for the Bristol Stool Chart as one of the simplest, most accessible tools for understanding your own health. Together, we explore why the lack of everyday language around bowel symptoms is a real barrier to getting support and early diagnosis, and why more open, honest conversation could help more people with their health. Please note that this episode includes discussion of bowel symptoms, incontinence, bleeding, and cancer diagnosis. Please listen with care. https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Bristol-stool-chart-for-carer-web-version.pdf https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/get-involved/bowelbabe-planning-your-fundraising If anything you've heard today feels familiar, if you've been putting off a conversation you have thought you need to have, with a doctor, a friend, or just yourself - let this be your sign to say it out loud. It gets easier the moment you do. For information and support on bowel cancer, you can contact Bowel Cancer UK on their helpline or at bowelcanceruk.org.uk , or Cancer Research UK at cancerresearchuk.org . For information and support on Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, you can contact Crohn's & Colitis UK on their helpline or at crohnsandcolitis.org.uk . For general gut health and nutrition support, you can find guidance through Guts UK at gutscharity.org.uk .
