97: Natural Health & Sobriety with Janey Lee Grace - Episode 9797: Natural Health & Sobriety with Janey Lee Grace - Episode 97
UK Health Radio Podcast
Janey Lee Grace revisits a frank conversation with Denise Welch about clinical and postnatal depression, self‑medicating with alcohol and cocaine, and the difficult path towards sobriety. The episode focuses on lived experience, stigma, and how connection and love helped Denise rebuild a more stable life.
44:17•17 Sept 2026
Denise Welch on Depression, Self‑Medication and Finding Sobriety
Episode Overview
- Clinical depression can be a severe, chemical illness that is very different from feeling sad or "blue" and may not have an obvious life trigger.
- Postnatal depression and hormonal shifts can lead to long‑term depressive illness, yet many women still face ignorance or dismissal from professionals.
- Alcohol and drugs can temporarily numb mental pain but often deepen depression and quickly turn social drinking into harmful dependency.
- Honest support from family, partners and recovery communities can be crucial in choosing sobriety and sticking with it.
- Medication for depression can function like insulin for diabetes, replacing missing chemicals in the brain rather than being a sign of weakness.
“When you are depressed, you can't feel love. You can't feel sadness. You can't feel happiness, anger, rage, frustration, nothing. You are dead inside.”
How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? This candid chat between Janey Lee Grace and actor Denise Welch pulls you right into the messy, human side of mental health and alcohol recovery. You’ll hear Denise talk openly about her long history of clinical depression, which first hit as severe postnatal depression after the birth of her son.
She explains the "chemical chaos" of hormones and how, for her, depression can arrive "endogenously" with no obvious trigger, leaving her feeling completely shut off from emotions: "You are dead inside." Janey keeps the tone warm and down‑to‑earth, asking the questions many people are afraid to voice. For anyone wondering why they drink the way they do, Denise’s story of using alcohol – and later cocaine – to numb unbearable mental pain is uncomfortably relatable.
She describes moving rapidly from social drinking to alcoholic drinking, hiding the extent of it, and the guilt she carries about parenting while deep in addiction and depression. Her honesty about self‑medication and the shame of being judged by the press and even doctors will resonate with anyone who’s ever thought, "I’m just keeping everything together, that’s why I drink." There’s hope here too.
Denise shares how her relationship with Lincoln became the turning point, leading to a joint decision to quit drinking and ultimately saving her life. Janey weaves in reminders about the power of connection, whether you’re sober curious or several years alcohol‑free, highlighting how support, community and shared stories can make all the difference. If you’re juggling mental health struggles and a complicated relationship with alcohol, this conversation offers real‑life experience, straight talking and a sense that you’re far from alone.
Could hearing someone "say it as it is" be the nudge you’ve been waiting for?
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