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
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 […]
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 […]
Psychotherapist, Lou Lebentz
Lou Lebentz is a therapist and trauma specialist. She came to her work through her own experiences of trauma, addiction and eventually psychosis. Lou says that years of trauma are like a shaken-up bottle of fizzy drink — at some point it will explode. She sees her role as helping clients to open the bottle […]
Being brave is beautiful, Petra Velzeboer
Petra Velzeboer was brought up in a cult, the Children of God. Lacking education but feeling that she was meant to save the world, she used alcohol and drugs to try to cope. Lonely after the birth of her children, she reached rock bottom but realised she had a choice. Petra chose to pursue happiness. […]
Finding the Answers Inside Yourself, Dave Lee
Ex Builder Turned Mental Health Campaigner Ten years ago, Dave Lee was working as a builder. He was depressed, drinking heavily and attempted to end his life. Recovering, he looked for answers. Eventually he realised that he could only find those insights and answers inside himself. He describes the difference between the ‘personal mind’ and […]
Whatever Warms Your Heart Up, Samantha Moyo
Wellness Event Producer Samantha Moyo is the founding mother of the sober morning dance movement, Morning Gloryville. It’s a rave that lets people who love dancing the day in a playful, fun way without relying on drugs or alcohol. Samantha herself says she’s still an addict of sorts — Morning Gloryville helped her with drink […]
Taming Tigers Author – Performance Coach, Jim Lawless
Creator & Author of Taming Tigers It took Jim Lawless fifteen years to pick up the phone and ring Alcoholics Anonymous. Now he’s one of the world’s best known motivational speakers and the best-selling author of Taming Tigers, a how-to guide to achieving what you thought was impossible. ‘My tiger was very real, roaring at me: […]
Hammering it Out – The Bipolar Blacksmith, Bex Simon
Bipolar Blacksmith Becoming a blacksmith saved Bex Simon from succumbing to bipolar disorder. In fact, the illness laid the foundations for her blacksmith business. Praised for her unusual and spectacularly artistic designs, Simon has been off medication since 2009, and lives with her husband and two children. She uses her illness ‘by building like a […]
From Homelessness to Breakthrough Musician, Joel Lees
Homeless Busker When 18 year old Joel got kicked out of his home for stealing from his mum, he had nothing, apart from ‘several mental issues I told no one about.’ For many years he lived on the streets of London busking, abusing alcohol and drugs. Through a rehabilitation program, he got back on track, […]
Mental Health Campaigner & Creator of ‘Stranger on the Bridge’, Jonny Benjamin MBE and Neil Laybourn
The Stranger on the Bridge Just before his 21st birthday, Jonny Benjamin MBE decided to run away from the mental hospital he was staying in. While he was sitting on the edge of London’s Waterloo Bridge, contemplating taking his own life, a man came up and talked him out of it. Six years later, a […]
British film director, Nick Love
British Film Director It was never certain that Nick’s life would work out. ‘I’m a bona fide addict,’ says the successful British writer and film director. As a teenager growing up on a South London housing estate, Love went through an intense spell of petty crime and drug taking. ‘I’ve got addiction running through my […]