Sian tells her story of moving from being a functioning alcoholic with a young child to being sober, and the journey of discovery and understanding things about herself this has led her on
Monique shares her experience of growing up in Canada with her mum, who has Bipolar II, and the highs and lows that came with that for her and her family.
A story about living with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DiD)
Simon Richards shares his story of dealing with acute anxiety following a car crash 7 years ago
Exploring difficulties accessing statutory mental health services, why we need to confront our fear of death, and how we can heal the planet with Simon Medhurst in Thanet
Max discusses his relationship to depression and how martial arts and his Qigong practice have helped him navigate life more easily
Toby Moore shares his experience of losing his father and we discuss how we deal with death and difficult emotions as a society
Hen and I discuss how to stop following your 'shoulds' and find your own rhythm in life and how to slow down and improve your mental health
At the end of the month I had to opportunity to go to Portugal for a retreat organised by two friends Henrietta Jadin and Rik Turner, which was very appropriately a Slow working retreat, focused on just that - slowing down and reassessing our priorities.Wow - what a week - it was just what I needed. On this podcast I chatted with Rik, at his flat in Lisbon, the day after we got back from the retreat. This was our second attempt, as we tried to record an alfresco podcast in the Portuguese country...
A short bonus interlude. 5 minutes of musings on space, slowing the pace and listening to your deeper self, as I walk through the fields of rural Buckinghamshire, UK
The startup world can be a real minefield when it comes to creating a work life balance. Being an entrepreneur can be quite a lonely experience, and there can be a lot of pressure for people who are starting their own businesses - a feat which requires you to go out on a limb and put your vulnerabilities out there. Stories of mental health being neglected in the startup world are rife. Of people wearing their lack of sleep and long hours at work as a badge of honour. Of people putting profit and...
For this episode I went for a chat with my friend Dave Perrins at his house in Brighton. I first met Dave a couple of years ago, at an event run by our mutual friend, Adam. Over the past few years we’ve had many a chat over cups of tea about mental wellbeing, productivity and getting stuff done, and also about the importance of sharing the lows and the struggles and not just the high points. Dave is the brains behind, Share Your Story, a popular event in Brighton which as the name suggests creat...
As part of my mental health trip around the UK I’m keen on getting off the beaten track, and exploring projects that may not immediately shout, “Mental Health!”, at you, but are in some way looking into the way we live our lives or have structured society.Permaculture is something that has been on my radar for a few years now, but I haven’t really had the chance to explore fully. I first came across permaculture through my work with systems change and was intrigued by how the principles of natur...
Discussing our mental health can be hard at the best of times. We are in a world that is increasingly hard to navigate. For young people especially talking about what they are experiencing on the inside, social pressures, misconceptions and lack of understanding can make it seem nearly impossible. Organisations such as Off the Record do great work in normalising the discussion around mental health, and helping young people to make sense of the world and really thrive. In this episode I met with ...
A few weeks ago I travelled to London to meet James Routledge, the founder of Sanctus, an organisation who focus on improving mental health in the workplace. There mission is to change the brand of mental health and bring awareness around it into the mainstream. In the interview, James discusses his journey and talks about the lessons he has learned in business and the art of slowing down and focusing on what is important. Check out their website: sanctus.io for lots of blogs and articles around...
This is a monologue I wrote about an anxiety attack I had in the UK DIY shop Screwfix. This isn’t a very polished piece — it’s really a stream of consciousness I just wrote without much thought for editing and making it logical and beautiful. Maybe that is quite apt, as what goes on inside my head often isn’t logical or beautiful (at least in the generally perceived interpretations of these concepts!) This is a link to the original blog post: https://medium.com/ministry-of-change/dont-cry-in-scr...
I recently took the Ministry of Change down to Bristol to Freedom of Mind, a festival designed to celebrate mental health, conceived two years ago by Ella Marshall when she was just 16 years old. One of the most captivating events I attended was 'Creating a Space for Men to Talk' organised by men's mental health organisation Man Up Man Down. In this podcast I sat down with the co-founder of Man Up Man Down, Kate Mabbett and then with Ella Marshall, to talk about mental health.
