In this episode, I chat to my close pal Ness about the theme of mental health and friendship. Ness and I met aged 18 on our first day of university where we bonded over my brand new travel kettle. By the end of our first week, we’d drunkenly decided we were going to live together in our second year, which thankfully worked out.

Throughout the ensuing twenty years of friendship, we’ve both had ups and downs with our mental health, including episodes of depression and anxiety. This conversation, which we recorded in April 2021 just as lockdown restrictions were beginning to ease, explores how our own and societal attitudes towards mental health have evolved in the time we’ve known each other, particularly around shedding unhelpful stigma and shame that can sometimes surround mental illness. We talk about how things have sometimes had to get quite bad before we’ve felt ready to face our mental health challenges and how depression and anxiety have been difficult but important portals for learning about ourselves. We also discuss what lockdown has taught us about looking after our mental health with the aid of a couple of metaphors (one involves wolves).

Having friends like Ness - who I know I can speak with when I’m feeling low and she'll understand - has been invaluable, particularly over this last year. I thought and I hoped an open chat about mental health might be helpful as we continue to navigate our way through these strange times. Thank you for listening and I hope you enjoy this episode.

Links
Mental Health First Aid: https://mhfaengland.org
Mind: https://www.mind.org.uk
Something I learnt: https://www.somethingilearnt.co.uk