9th May – 15th May 2022 is Mental Health Awareness Week and the theme of this year’s event is ‘Loneliness.’
According to The Mental Health Foundation, many of us suffered from Loneliness during the pandemic, and many of us are still struggling to recover. This year, Mental Health Awareness Week aims to rectify this, to help people connect and bring teams and communities together in person after years of ”going virtual” – because connection and engagement are fundamental to overall well-being.
Our Great British Speakers are on-hand to help you and your business find better ways to overcome this ”epidemic of loneliness” by raising awareness of what loneliness does to our wellness and the steps we can take to address it. Because, Loneliness doesn’t always mean you are alone, sometimes it can mean that you feel disconnected even when you’re surrounded by people. This is something that our speakers understand all too well having both overcome great adversity to become the motivational speakers they are today!
So if you’re running an event for Mental Health Awareness Week to bring people together, or just wish to boost your team’s wellbeing with a motivational talk, we can help! Here are just a few of our top Mental Health and Wellness Speakers who can inspire any audience to be positive and find purpose.
1. Steve Carr – Addiction & Suicide Prevention
Steve Carr is an inspirational speaker who speaks from pure experience. Childhood traumas and turbulent early adulthood wrecked by addictions and poor mental health led Steve to attempt suicide on multiple occasions. However, after getting the help he needed to overcome his past, Steve has turned his life around and is now dedicated to helping others so no one has to face adversity or challenges alone…
Today Steve Carr is one of only a handful of Suicide First Aid tutors in the country.
Hear more from Steve Carr in our Interview with Great British Speakers’ director Jane Farnham.
2. Roman Kemp – Speaking Up On Men’s Mental Health
Capital FM radio presenter Roman Kemp became an advocate for male mental health back in 2021 when his documentary ‘Roman Kemp; Our Silent Emergency’ aired on BBC. Kemp was inspired to make the documentary after his friend committed suicide in 2020, causing Roman and those around him to question how they couldn’t spot the signs of their friend’s depression. Roman has since held corporate talks on male mental health in the hopes to make other men feel not so alone and to seek help if they require it.
Read More About Roman Kemp; Our Silent Emergency – Our Top Male Mental Health Speakers.
3. Anna Williamson – Anxiety Disorder and MIND Ambassador
Outside of her TV career as a presenter, behind closed doors, Anna Williamson suffered from an almost crippling battle with generalised anxiety disorder. During her own recovery and upon speaking out about her own experience, Anna realised there was a huge stigma attached to poor mental health. As a result, Anna was determined to make a difference and joined the mental health charity MIND as an official ambassador. She also qualified as a counsellor, life coach and Master NLP practitioner.
Anna now contributes her expertise to TV and magazines shows and is also often booked to speak in schools, businesses and corporate events. She has also gained great success from her online videos for AOL, YouTube and The Telegraph.
4. Andrew Pain – Domestic Violence Survivor
As a long-term survivor of domestic abuse in his former marriage, Andrew Pain knows only too well how isolating personal trauma can be. Not only did his homelife start affecting his performance at work: from the extraordinary levels of sick leave to the excessive and lengthy personal phone calls each day, falling asleep on the phone to his clients mid-way through the conversation due to sheer exhaustion – but also how it can distance you from friends and family, knock your confidence and lead to server depression too!
Andrew is keen to highlight that domestic abuse isn’t gendered – that men can also suffer from abusive partners, and that it’s important to encourage people to reach out, as we never really know what may be going on in someone’s personal life, behind closed doors!
Hear more from Andrew Pain in our Interview with the director of Great British Speakers Jane Farnham.
You know Kelly Holmes the athlete, but do you know Kelly Holmes – mental health advocate and businesswoman/ entrepreneur?
Affected by her own struggles Kelly wanted to help others and so became a trained mental health first aider.
Since then, Kelly has channelled her love of fitness with good physical & mental health into her business interests. She is the owner of a unique events hub where she has several distinct operations including two wellness Apps that were launched in 2020.
And when it comes to inspiring businesses, Kelly is passionate about raising awareness of mental health and bringing teams together with a focus on improving workplace wellness, with talks and workshops on overcoming adversity, female empowerment, achieving your goals, and maintaining your team’s mental health & wellbeing.
6. Owen O’ Kane – ‘Ten to Zen’ Author & Speaker
Psychotherapist and author of the globally acclaimed, Ten To Zen Owen O’Kane, has the necessary skills to analyse any mental, emotional, or stress-related issue with the utmost efficiency. Owen believes that a great mind warrants unprecedented improvements in every aspect of daily working life. Listening to him speak will undoubtedly provide you with the tools for a happier, healthier mind.
Owen’s highlight acclaimed keynote talks are based on his Ten To Zen success, which provides a mapped out plan to help quieten, calm, and control the mind and through his talks, which aims for mental clarity and to put an end to unhelpful thought patterns. Owen has condensed a lifetime of experience into an exceptional book and enjoys sharing this with corporate teams through speeches and workshops.
Speaker; Poorna Bell acted as both a facilitator and guest speaker at many mental health and wellness events. She was identified by Balance Magazine as one of the Top 100 Wellness Personalities and has held talks for the NHS and at the Global Ministerial Mental Health Summit on the topic of mental health.
Trained in a presentation at RADA, Poorna has presented in a number of formats from panel sessions to chairing conferences. Some of her keynote discussion topics include mental health and diversity in the media and how social media is affecting our perceptions of identity.
Author; Poorna’s debut book Chase the Rainbow (2017) was described by Poorna as a ‘memoir-meets-journalism’ piece based on her life with her husband Rob who suffered from depression and addiction and unfortunately took his own life in 2015. Despite the heavy subject matter, the story is ultimately about love, includes elements of humour and is a brave attempt to break the societal stigma attached to mental health. Of the book author and journalist, Matt Haig reviewed that it was “Surprisingly funny, brave and bittersweet.”
The book’s sequels In Search of Silence (2019) and Stronger (2021) also were also highly praised with Fern Cotton calling Silence “Raw and poetic” and Stacey Soloman saying that Stronger “… reminds us all that we are stronger than we know.”
8. Clive Branson – Illness & Isolation (Prostate cancer, Motor Neurone Disease)
The last few years have been an astonishing period for Clive Branson, who’s no stranger to the isolation mental and physical health can bring.
From dealing with personal grief to the diagnosis of two life-limiting diseases, and spending seven weeks in a psychiatric hospital, Clive is the epitome of an ‘inspirational speaker.’ Today, Clive’s mission is to actively demonstrate that we do have the ability to overcome adversity. Resilience, Hope and Positivity are crucial words in his vocabulary, and the next chapter of his life will be met with stoicism and a smile.
Latest News
Only this month (May 2022) did Tv-personality and Gogglebox star Scarlett Moffat open up about her struggle with loneliness during the Covid-Pandemic, revealing that she turned to Samaritans for help. She is now a Samaritan’s ambassador for the suicide prevention charity and hopes that by sharing her story, she can raise awareness and help others overcome their own mental health struggles, loneliness and depression.
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In the UK, many of us struggle with low moods, depressive thoughts and in extreme cases thoughts of suicide, but by talking to others about our feelings we can help ourselves and others feel not quite so alone. Whether in our personal or professional lives, connectivity and engagement are vital to our well-being and a dedicated mental health speaker will ensure that your audience is left with key takeaways that they can use to enhance their mental health moving forward.
You can also Book Now for Loneliness Awareness Week (13th-17th June) or Mental Health Awareness Day (October 10th 2022.)
Our speakers are available to hire all year round, so if you missed booking your perfect speaker on this occasion, why not give us a call and book them in advance for Loneliness Awareness Week this June or for Mental Health Awareness Day this October.
