Almost four years ago, Millie Gooch gave up alcohol to save her rapidly declining mental health. When she first stopped drinking, she couldn’t find support and a community that reflected her experience of sobriety – most were related to recovery programmes. So she founded Sober Girl Society, a growing community who are either committed to […]
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The joy of sobriety, Millie Gooch
Closing your mind’s apps, Richie Norton
Richie Norton discovered yoga when struggling to recover from injuries from his rugby career. The different forms of movement, plus the connection to his breath, helped him deal with what was going on in his mind at the same time. “That took me into breathwork, and meditation, and the power of restorative movement, and functional movement.” […]
Vulnerability pays off, Paul McGregor
When Paul McGregor was 18, his father took his own life. He had been treated for depression and sectioned for a while after a previous attempt, but Paul and his family were still totally unprepared. From his father’s first trip to the doctor to his death was only six months. “My dad was very good […]
Every suicide is unnecessary, Owen Paterson MP
In 2020, Rose Paterson took her own life. She had never spoken of depression, never been on medication, and had never mentioned her pain to her family. She went missing one day, and when they found her body, the Patersons’ world collapsed. “It is incomprehensible that she could have torn herself away from this,” says […]
Make sure your own cup is full, Liana Cornell
Actress and filmmaker Liana Cornell was drawn to environmental issues from an early age, helped by her unconventional upbringing as the child of filmmakers. She wanted to use her platform as an actress to shine a spotlight on environmental organisations whose work might not have been known. But the work left her drained and burned […]
The most empowering work you can do, Christo Hudson
Christo Hudson had always wanted to be a pilot, and spent 12 years doing the job he loved, until it all stopped overnight with the pandemic. He suffered anxiety and bouts of depression, unable to see a way forward. “My dream was stolen from me. I had been completely defined by the job I had. […]
Helping people belong, Augustine Ihm
Augustine Ihm and his family were in and out of homeless shelters in Chicago through his childhood. Often alone and vulnerable, he was abused and the experience left him racked with shame and estranged from his mother when she didn’t protect him. He has since been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and uses mindfulness and his […]
Strictly Come Dancing star, Amy Dowden
Former champion dancer and Strictly personality Amy Dowden started suffering debilitating attacks on her health when she was 11, causing her to be in and out of hospital regularly. Eight years later, it was diagnosed as Crohn’s Disease. She went public about her Crohn’s to help raise awareness to the condition and to show other […]
From Soho to sheep farming, Zoe Colville
Zoe Colville was a hairdresser in Soho until she gave it all up to protect her mental health. Moving to the countryside, she and her partner Kriss started farming their own flock of sheep. Following the death of her father, she got therapy to deal with extreme anxiety and panic attacks. “There wasn’t a minute […]
Rapper, musician and mental health campaigner, Nick Brewer
Rapper and musician Nick Brewer has suffered anxiety since childhood. He found a lot of peace in reading, as well as being able to escape from his worries. When his father gave him a rap CD, it connected with him, and how he could tell his own story and make sense of his thoughts. “Writing […]
Author and journalist on happiness,
Author and journalist Oliver Burkeman reminds us that what will be pleasurable and fun for us isn’t always easy at the beginning: think of it as weight training, and do a little more every day at the point where it’s a tiny bit more uncomfortable than you’d choose. “The advice you don’t want to hear […]
Breathwork coach and male mental health expert, Jamie Clements
Jamie Clements learned the healing power of breathwork through a gym when suffering from depression and anxiety in his early 20s. Now he teaches others, and also hosts the very successful Man Down podcast. He explains that our breath can tell us a lot about our mental and physical health. “If you stop, shut your […]