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 […]
Stress
Former Olympic Silver Medallist Diver turned Mental Wellbeing & Yoga Coach, Leon Taylor
Three-time Olympic diver and silver medallist Leon Taylor trained hard for his success but his body paid the price. ‘If you were a horse,’ he was told when he retired from the sport, ‘we’d have to shoot you.’ As with many athletes, it took him a while to recover both physically and mentally from the […]
Stress Coach, 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 […]
Dancing to Freedom
Feed your mind
Samiya Noordeen was a barrister for many years before she turned to dance, becoming a tango performer and setting up a dance lifestyle company. A mother of three children, Samiya had reached a point where she felt the need to develop a life that was based around her passion to be more creative, […]
All in the Mind presenter on Radio 4, Claudia Hammond
Claudia Hammond’s new book, The Art of Rest, looks at how we can learn to rest better and use rest to recharge ourselves more effectively. As an author, broadcaster and psychology lecturer, Claudia is undoubtedly a busy person. She’s learnt that taking breaks to do something you enjoy, such as gardening in her case, can […]
Former Gang leader turned Campaigner & Poet, Karl Lokko
Karl Lokko grew up on a south London estate where gang violence was all around him. He saw friends killed and became involved in crime himself, until he managed to turn his life around. Now he’s a mentor, campaigner and poet. Karl says he knew little about mental health when he was younger and that […]
Labour MP, Jess Phillips MP
The Labour MP for Birmingham Yardley, Jess Phillips, says that she often wakes up anxious about the day ahead. Some of her anxieties are all too real as she is often the target of vicious online abuse and has experienced the effects of terrorist attacks. But as Jess says, having gone through eating disorders and […]
Psychotherapist & Former Mental Health Nurse Lead, Owen O’Kane
Owen O’Kane is a psychotherapist with a medical background. He’s the author of Ten to Zen, a guide to meditation and mindfulness that he says anyone can use to calm their mind. Owen grew up amid the Troubles in Northern Ireland and has seen how anxiety affects a place and its people. He has also […]
Globally recognised teacher of Science-Based Mindfulness, Dr Reena Kotecha
While Dr Reena Kotecha was working in the health service, she began to realise she was burnt out. She learned that she had to look after herself in order to help her patients. When Dr Reena took time out with anxiety and depression, she studied meditation, mindfulness and the traditional Indian medicine, Ayurveda. Now she […]
Former Metropolitan Police Commander, John Sutherland
John Sutherland was a police officer for more than 20 years, rising to become a Borough Commander in London. He was overcome by exhaustion, anxiety and then depression that ‘broke him into a thousand tiny pieces’. The stress of a job that brought him constantly into ‘the hurting places of life’ such as crime scenes and […]
Sophrology Expert, Dominique Antiglio
When Dominique Antiglio arrived in the UK, she was surprised to find that Sophrology wasn’t widely known. Elsewhere in Europe, it’s a popular technique for relieving stress and is used in hospitals and schools. Dominique used it herself to overcome illness as a teenager. She now teaches others its combination of breathing, relaxation, movement and visualisation as […]
Sleep, Bliss and Meditation, Will Williams
Will Williams is a teacher of meditation, but he doesn’t look like the stereotype of a guru. Will came to meditation after suffering from insomnia for years. Vedic meditation is an ancient tradition but Will says it has many lessons for how we live now, in a world where so many of us are constantly […]
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