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Head Talks aims to inform, inspire and engage those interested in mental health and wellbeing.
Find people speaking from the heart and from their own experience, as well as a wide range of experts and healers sharing their tips and insights to help us work towards better mental health and wellbeing.
Video highlights
The view from the balcony, Anna Percy-Davis
Anna Percy-Davis is a career coach and mentor who advises her clients to seek more genuine, authentic versions of themselves in the workplace. Although she says we can’t wave a magic wand to sort everything out, we can tweak our perceptions and our behaviour gradually. Anna says self-care is vital, as is finding people who […]
You can do hard things, Adrienne Herbert
Adrienne Herbert was a professional dancer with much to look forward to — a new husband and a new baby — when her husband’s sudden illness turned their lives upside down. Adrienne took up running as a way to get out of the door and get her energy back. She now runs road races and […]
Depression doesn’t define me, Oliver Chittenden
Two years after Head Talks’ launch, we turn to founder Oliver Chittenden to hear his own story of his mental health struggles. Now meditation is key, especially the discipline of making it a part of a daily routine, adding that 10 day silent retreats have been a game-changer. Oliver is also a fan of cold-water […]
Learning to trust my brain again, Scarlett Curtis
Scarlett Curtis is a writer, podcaster and activist. Her new book, It’s not OK to feel blue (and other lies), is a collection of writings on mental health from high-profile figures. Scarlett tells us about how she gets through some of her own dark times — they’re less frequent now, fortunately, but still affect her […]
Paws for thought, Professor Jo Williams (and Boomer)
An estimated 10% of youngsters in the UK have had an official diagnosis of a mental health condition. “The complexities of modern life add further cognitive strain and we are seeing a rise in these diagnoses,” says Professor Jo Williams from the University of Edinburgh. She has been researching the impact of pets on the […]
Not all champagne and skittles, Simon Webbe
Singer and songwriter Simon Webbe — former member of Blue and Strictly contestant — broke down on TV and realised that he had to open up about his depression. He had lost close friends to suicide and now tells others the importance of talking to someone about your feelings. Simon finds talking, exercise, and creating […]
Letting Go of the Fear of Food, Renee McGregor
Nutritionist Nutritionist Renee McGregor says that eating disorders aren’t about food, they’re about control. They may start innocently enough. But for someone who has an unhealthy relationship with food, their own inner critic is constantly cracking the whip. Whatever they do can never be enough to satisfy it. Renee works to help people ‘rewire their […]
Peers Without Pressure, Anna and Millie
Wimbledon High Students Anna and Millie are students at Wimbledon High who take part in the school’s peer counselling project. They help advise younger girls on how to cope with the pressures around them. That pressure can come from outside: Anna and Millie say that looking good and body image are big concerns among some […]
MASTERCLASSES
Dive even deeper into the world of mental health and wellbeing by signing up to our Masterclasses. Delivered by today’s leading voices, HeadTalks’ Masterclasses will give you exclusive access to insight, exercises and lifestyle tips – taking you deeper into the beautiful realm of what it means to be human.
Dr Rangan Chatterjee,
Pioneer of Progressive Medicine
New Medicine
see video and read more
Bruce Daisley,
European Vice President of Twitter & Champion of Wellbeing at Work
Mental Sense
see video and read more
Headtalks blog
Opening new doors
On the surface Sefik had everything – a loving family and successful career. But mental health struggles got on top of him, and he tried to take his own life twice over a decade. In the years between attempts, he didn’t feel he could open up to anyone, due to stigma and social […]
Running got my life back on track
Struggle & success
Drinking started as Friday night fun for Nick Alexander – something that all the lads from school did. But then it became something he did every day. Mid-week drinking after football, and the blur of university. “Times were good – from the outside,” he says. Then he was drinking to and from work, […]
Taking care of the outside of your head
Off Grid Therapy
Oliver visits his local barbers’ shop, Band of Barbers, where barber Samir is great at helping his customers to relax — some want to chat, others to stay quiet, and some are so calmed that they even fall asleep in the chair. Self-care and a clean shave all in one.
Podcast highlights
An Inheritance of Trauma by, Josh Zitser
Josh Zitser is a journalist who became interested in the after-effects of the Holocaust on the families of survivors because of his own family’s experience. Josh’s grandmother survived Auschwitz — although other members of her family did not. Years later, she shared memories with him that she had been reluctant to talk about with her […]
Dream Yourself Better, Charlie Morley
Lucid dreaming is a state where you’re asleep, but aware that you’re dreaming. Charlie Morley says that almost anyone can learn how to do it. He’s a teacher of lucid dreaming and a student of Buddhism. Charlie says that not only is lucid dreaming fun — like a virtual reality simulation — but it has […]
Love, Hope and Cancer, Lucy O’Donnell
Cancer Wellness Advisor When Lucy was diagnosed with Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer in November 2011, she spent most of the next eighteen months in radical cancer treatment. Through her continuing treatment and experience, Lucy channels her energies into helping other people in and outside the cancer world. She is a Cancer Counsellor, Holistic Therapist, Inspirational […]
The Science of Mind Over Body, Jo Marchant
Science Journalist Science journalist Jo Marchant set out in her book Cure: a journey into the science of mind over body, to find out more about the evidence for how our minds can influence our bodies. She tells us about some of the fascinating experiments that researchers are conducting into phenomena such as the placebo […]