Out On A Limb

Tv Star And Presenter Julia Morris Talks Motherhood, Dieting And Near-Death Experiences To Paul Ewart, And Reveals Why Being 50 Is Fabulous

- Paul Ewart

She’s Australia’s first lady of comedy. A laugh-a-minute legend for whom no topic is immune from the comedic treatment. During a fun and laughter-filled chat, Julia Morris relays her most intimate and heart-wrenching woes, all with a side of humour. It’s this refreshing openness and earthy honesty that are undoubtedly a big part of her appeal.

“I hadn’t experienced anything like that at all until my menopause hit,” the 50-year-old tells Good Health of her recent mental health challenges. “But for me, it wasn’t depression, it was an intense rip-someone’s-face-off aggression. I’d be pretty patient until the end of the day and then I’d get enraged. I don’t think people-pleasing was helping either, I’d be like, ‘I won’t say anything, I won’t say anything, I won’t say anything… this is f**ked!’” she recalls, laughing.

“I thought I was going mental. The more busy I got, the worse it became, to the point where I was worried that I’d get so angry I’d end upkilling someone.”

Consumed by fury and with her mood swings worsening, Julia decided to bite the bullet last year and seek professional help, a decision that changed her life. Visiting a psychologist, she was coached in cognitive behavioural therapy, or ‘CBT’, a type of psychotherapy designed to change unhealthy habits of thinking, feeling or behaving.

“CBT has taught me to address the feelings as soon as they start,” she explains. “And to then say to my colleagues, ‘Guys, I’m not feeling that great, we really need to wrap this up’. It also helps when I feel overloaded – when I’m needed at school, needed at work, needed to do interviews, needed at home… CBT allows me to slow down the world. It’s super-liberating.”