Journalist and author Sam Baker noticed an escalation in her anxiety, crashes in self-confidence, and depression in her 40s. “I felt like I had lost sight of myself.” When she was researching her book, The Shift, she realised those feelings weren’t uncommon in women – and they weren’t being discussed. Midway through HRT, she was […]
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Journalist and Author of The Shift, Sam Baker
World’s most influential Happiness Researcher, Meik Wiking
Meik Wiking, CEO of The Happiness Institute, explores what makes us happy. “It’s about having a sense of connection, a sense of purpose, and exploring positive emotions on a daily basis,” he says. During the pandemic, our sense of connection has suffered, he says, which impacts our daily mood, overall life satisfaction and the meaning […]
Forgiveness brings us peace, Swati Dlamini
Swati Dlamini, granddaughter of Nelson and Winnie Mandela, vowed to carry her grandparents’ work and values with her through her life. “One of the great lessons I learned from my grandfather was one of forgiveness. Forgiveness is for me to have peace, and not being imprisoned by what others have done.” During the pandemic, she […]
Mindful Leadership Expert, Pandit Dasa
Pandit Dasa, the child of Indian immigrants, grew up in America. He joined a monastery in 1999, hoping to find clarity and purpose in a simpler life. He spent 15 years living as a monk in New York, before deciding he wanted to leave the monastic order to take his teachings into the corporate world […]
Loving the skin you’re in, Eryca Freemantle
As a child, Eryca Freemantle was bullied at school for being different, and remembers the constant feeling of heaviness and sadness. Home was her safe space. But when a life-changing accident left her with serious facial scarring from burns, those memories of childhood bullying came back. After suffering a breakdown, having suicidal thoughts and finally […]
International Music Conductor, Charles Hazlewood
Conductor Charles Hazlewood created the Paraorchestra for the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics, as a way to enable virtuoso disabled magicians to share their musical gifts. But music has played a greater role than that in Charles’ life: it has helped through the recovery from deep-buried sexual abuse when he was young. “The trauma that […]
Tomorrow might be great, Josh Zitser
Josh Zitser was always a deeply sensitive child, but when a teenage friend took her own life, he suffered depression, panic attacks and an eating disorder. But it took a while for him to realise his feelings weren’t the same as everyone else. Josh has had suicidal thoughts, but recent therapy has changed his life. […]
Comedian and mental health campaigner, Juliette Burton
Since her teens, comedian Juliette Burton has been diagnosed with a series of mental health disorders, from eating disorders to anxiety. Juliette says comedy is a way to survive the darkness and making light of her illnesses really helps her. Having to go on stage in front of an audience reduces tension and allows her […]
From tragedy, comes hope, Orin Lewis
When Beverley De-Gale’s son Daniel was diagnosed with leukaemia for the second time in 1995, he needed a stem cell transplant to survive. But stem cell matches outside of the family are race-related, and the chance of finding a match was 1 in 250,000. The match was found, but it was too late, and Daniel […]
Don’t run away from panic, Joshua Fletcher
After suffering from anxiety, culminating in a full-blown panic attack at work, Joshua Fletcher studied how he could effectively treat himself. His best advice was “stop trying to fix yourself” which was genuinely liberating. He qualified as a psychotherapist and founded The Panic Room. Josh encourages people just to experience their panic. He says the […]
Reclaiming myself after addiction, Talitha Fosh
Psychotherapist Talitha Fosh is an addict. “The way that my mind works is what makes me an addict,” she says. It started with an eating disorder when she was 14, comparing herself to others, and it spiralled out of control quickly. Then Tally found alcohol and drugs. “I didn’t like who I was when I […]
Music, mental health and me, Jack Williamson
After his brother took his own life, music executive Jack Williamson started to question his purpose and his drive. Artist management was taking its toll on his mental health, and he realised there was a need in the music industry to provide early onset mental health support. Since then, Music and You, which Jack founded […]