In one of her typically brilliant pieces of writing, the great Victoria Wood introduced us to Nicola (played by Julie Walters), the health farm manager. When talking about her philosophy of fitness... Read more
Every phase of this pandemic has brought with it huge mental health and wellbeing challenges, with different worries and pressures. It has been an emotional rollercoaster. Lots of downs – so... Read more
Mark Twain is credited with coining the phrase “golf is a good walk spoiled”. For those of us who love the game of golf this isn’t just wrong, it is inconceivable. For... Read more
Like most cliches, there is truth behind the lazy language that tells us ‘honesty is the best policy’. Telling the truth is a good thing: telling lies, not so much. But that black and... Read more
Christian Eriksen’s collapse and the reaction to it says a lot. It speaks volumes about who we are and what we stand for, especially as we enter International Men’s Health Week. But it... Read more
It was 21 years since I graduated and longer since I’d written an essay. 252 months. 13,104 weeks. A lifetime ago. Pre-daughter. Pre-marriage. Pre-career. Pre-breakdown. Pre-self doubt.... Read more
My daughter is seven and already understands the importance of talking about her feelings, getting things out of her head (especially if they are “all jumbled up” – her own lovely... Read more
One of the biggest changes I made after my breakdown was to rethink what it meant to be successful. Before I snapped my emotional elastic band, around the end of 2014, I defined success in career... Read more
One of the biggest barriers to people seeking help with their mental health is a worry – often ironically – that they are not sick enough. That they need to pull themselves together. They... Read more
With the support of therapists, a kind GP, a couple of sessions with a psychiatrist and a lot of soul-searching, self reflection and painful introspection, I know that I have been living with... Read more
As well as COVID reaching deep into our daily lives and communities, there is another virus infecting parts of UK life. It is proving prevalent in many big organisations, sweeping through corporate... Read more
Whatever your views on lockdowns (I’ve seen two new pieces of graffiti today saying “lockdowns kill”) and the government’s performance during this crisis, there is one thing I... Read more
I love a good mystery. I grew up on Inspector Morse, Taggart, Cracker and Prime Suspect. Many of my favourite films or recent streaming or TV series involve the weighing of clues and the elimination... Read more
Despite the daily, drip, drip, drip of dire news on the COVID front and the seemingly inevitable impending doom of tier four restrictions reaching us here in Merseyside (perhaps as part of a full... Read more
2020 will go down in history as the worse year in living memory. It’s not hard to see why. A global, deadly, cruel pandemic, decimating families and communities and leading to unprecedented... Read more
As I know from my own experiences in the corporate world, academia, media, politics, working with the medical profession and working with senior leaderships teams across all sectors of the UK economy... Read more
As someone who lives with depression, I am used to the feeling of dark clouds looming towards me from the horizon. That feeling – sometimes arriving as suddenly as a thunderbolt or as gradually... Read more
To mark World Mental Health Day 2020, I was delighted to be interviewed by colleagues at The British Medical Association (BMA) as they launched their new Mental Health Network. We had a great... Read more
IIt remains the most difficult conversation that I regularly have. It almost guarantees tons of tumbleweed and awkwardness. It prompts social embarrassment. It leads to looks of confusion. Dismay.... Read more
When I lecture or blog on mental health and the workplace, I regularly say that managing your own mental health is about making the right choices for you. No matter how good your employer, your boss,... Read more
I have been writing a blog since the summer of 2008. I use it to share my experiences and views on mental health – I had a breakdown in 2014/15 and live with depression and anxiety – and work life balance.
I am passionate about working on my wellbeing and helping others to achieve and maintain the right work life balance and wellbeing approaches for them. My blog – along with my Twitter feed – comes with one health warning – if you read it you may have to hear about some of my other passions – my family, golf, Liverpool FC, communications, the Boston Red Sox, politics, the West Wing, and horse racing!
This blog was previously hosted on Blogspot and now sits here. All the views expressed here are mine.