Who’s on the podcast?

In this episode of the podcast Jo talks to Kev Cullinan who, as well as being a huge advocate for yoga and passionate about his music, has also struggled with his mental health.

What’s the topic?

Whilst there is increasing awareness surrounding male mental health, there are still pervading views in society that men “should be strong” and “shouldn’t show emotion” which only serve to isolate men further and increase their risk of suffering in silence.

On the Mental Health Foundation website it’s reported by the Office for National Statistics that there were 5,821 suicides recorded in Great Britain in 2017, and 75% were male. Furthermore, suicide is the most common cause of death in men aged  20-49 years’ old in England and Wales.

Kev discusses his struggles with anxiety and depression, and about his journey into developing ways of managing his mental health.

In this episode we talk about:

• What it means to be a male with mental health difficulties
• Kev’s experiences in disclosing his problems to mental health professionals
• The coping skills and strategies that Kev uses to help manage his mental health

Related posts

• Why It’s Difficult For Men To Talk About Mental Health

Thank you for listening

Thank you for supporting the podcast, it means a lot to us that you’re listening. If you enjoyed this episode please share it using the social share buttons on this page. If you have any comments, or suggestions for future podcast episodes then please feel free to get in touch 🙂

We’d also appreciate it if you’d review the show and leave a rating for the podcast in iTunes, and this helps it to reach a wider audience.

Finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes to make sure you keep up to date with the latest episodes.

Who’s on the podcast?

In this first episode of the podcast Jo talks to Sarah Blunden, who is a Counsellor in private practice in Stoke-on-Trent. Sarah also works at a local charity counselling children.

What’s the topic?

It seems as though there are a lot more pressures on young people these days; this might be linked to things like social media and/or the need to do well in school. Whatever the reason, these pressures can increase their feelings of anxiety and worry.

The Mental Health Foundation states that 70% of children and young people who experience mental health problems have not received support at a sufficiently early age, so it seems pertinent that young people receive the support they need as early as possible.

In this episode we talk about:

• Sarah’s work with children and young people and the sorts of issues that can cause them anxiety
• How Sarah works with children and young people to explore their anxieties
• Ways that children and young people can manage their anxieties more effectively.

Live Minds: Young people’s telephone service

North Staffordshire Mind now have a young people’s telephone service called Live Minds for children and young people aged 11-18 years’ old living in Stoke on Trent. The service is available to call free of charge on Wednesdays 4pm-8pm and Thursdays 4pm-9pm.

The number is 0800 0051 445.

Please note that the service is not a crisis line.

Contact Sarah

If you’d like to find out more about Sarah then check out her Facebook page, or you can visit her website Sarah Blunden Counselling.

Thank you for listening

Thank you for supporting the podcast, it means a lot to us that you’re listening. If you enjoyed this episode please share it using the social share buttons on this page. If you have any comments, or suggestions for future podcast episodes then please feel free to get in touch 🙂

We’d also appreciate it if you’d review the show and leave a rating for the podcast in iTunes, and this helps it to reach a wider audience.

Finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes to make sure you keep up to date with the latest episodes.