Glenn and Jessie Close have launched a really interesting new mental health campaign called bringchange2mind.

“1 in 6 adults and almost 1 in 10 children suffer from a diagnosable mental illness. Yet, for many, the stigma associated with the illness, can be as great a challenge as the disease itself. This is where the misconceptions stop. This is where bias comes to an end. This is where we change lives. Because this is where we Bring Change 2 Mind.”

The Mindapples blog has been a little quiet lately as Tessy and me have been super busy. We like to think our tweets are happy and interesting ( Thanks ArrivalEd for confirmation ) and we would like to invite you to follow us:

Follow Mindapples| Follow Redjotter | Follow Tessy

Watch this space for mindapples tweets full of goodness…

Mindapples has been on its summer holidays for a month, but with World Mental Health Day and New Year’s Resolutions fast approaching, we’re back and kicking up a gear again (in a nice sustainable, healthy sort of way).

So, to kick things off, here’s a video of me pitching Mindapples at the Innovation Exchange Festival of Ideas two weeks ago, in which I invite ideas from organisations about how Mindapples can support their work and partner up to get the word out about everyday mental health. If you’re an organisation looking to fund innovations in stigma reduction and public mental health, or if you’d like to run a Mindapples 5-a-day survey on your website or promote us to your community, e-mail me at andy[at]mindapples.org.

(sorry about the sound quality…)

Posted by Andy Gibson

Rethink: Working together to help everyone affected by severe mental illness recover a better quality of life.

Posted by Lauren

My friend Sorrell at the Chamomile Clinic has sent me something to share with you: her five herbs for happiness.

1. Lemon balm – a truly balancing herb, whether you are anxious or depressed this herb can bring back a sense of balance into your life and it tastes delicious as a herbal tea.
2. Valerian – a great sedative for anxiety and insomnia with no hangover effects
3. Chamomile – a safe remedy for children, it soothes them to sleep, has a reputation for preventing night terrors and helps relieve grumpy tantrums
4. Peppermint – traditionally known as a herb for grumpy old men (but if you hadn’t noticed women are grumpy sometimes too), it will work to settle an upset stomach too.
5. Skullcap – for the overactive mind that can’t switch off, this herb can help those who don’t let go so easily from the troubles of the day, or just need a break from their own thoughts when times are tough.

I’ve tried 2, 3 and 4 myself and they definitely helped me calm down and sleep better. You can contact Sorrell by email for more tailored advice and recommendations, or find a herbalist near you via the NIMH.

And for those of you who don’t believe in all that herbal medicine gubbins, Sorrell has shared her Mindapples five-a-day with us too:

1. taking at least 10 minutes a day to be alone and meditate, or practice self-hypnosis
2. drinking some herbal tea
3. enjoying a soak in a warm bath with my favourite essential oils
4. tending to the garden
5. smiling at a stranger everyday – spread the happiness

Thanks Sorrell!

Posted by Andy Gibson

Relentless consumption, spiralling debt, information overload. Is modern life making you ill? William Leith discovers the hidden problems with living in a 24-hour world.

Posted by Lauren

We’ve been a bit quiet here on the Mindapples blog (my book coming out, Lauren’s MA due in, Tessy on holiday…), but there’s a lot going on behind the scenes.

One of the things I’ve been up to is contributing to a new Channel 4 programme, Alone in the Wild, in which Ed Wardle will be living alone in the Yukon wilderness for 3 months, starting this week. Adam Gee at Channel 4 tells me that no experiments in human isolation have ever gone beyond 8 weeks, so no-one is sure what Ed will experience towards the end of his stay. He’s a brave guy and I’m watching his progress with interest.

Channel 4 interviewed me for their website , along with Terry Waite, Sarah Maitland and other more qualified people than me, about what I thought would be the impact of solitude on Ed’s mental health. I drew on many of the Mindapples responses to inform the discussion – thanks to all of you for contributing – and as you can see, from reading your 5-a-days it’s clear that solitude is good for the mind, but connection with people is really important too. Spending time with people is the most popular of all the activities you picked. I also mentioned some of the other things which you said helped you, including reading fiction (also a popular choice), and attention and relaxation techniques such as morning pages and mindfulness.

I’m not sure I was quite as confident as I sound from the interview – I’ve certainly never wanted to be seen as an expert on mental health – but I hope it’s interesting and gives you food for thought. Let me know what you think, or if you have anything to add, either here or on the Channel 4 site. You can also follow Ed’s progress on Twitter and join the conversation there too. After all, it’s nice to know we’re not alone!

channel4.com/programmes/alone-in-the-wild/articles/andy-gibson-on-solitude

Posted by Andy Gibson

Sue Baker, director of the Time to Change programme, which is tackling the stigma around mental health problems, said:

“Attitudes towards mental health issues are finally beginning to move in the right direction. Deep-seated prejudices are starting to shift and it’s a further sign that we are heading towards a tipping point in England and that there is a real appetite for change.Nearly nine out of 10 people with mental health problems have been affected by stigma and discrimination, with two thirds saying they have stopped doing things because of this.”

Posted by Lauren

Thank you to Product Designer Steph Fulke for sharing her mindapples space.

“Mindapples are trying to get people to identify their place in which they feel happy and relaxed. By appreciating a place helps you to be mindful. Here is mine. A window seat on either a train, buss or car. I drift… I daydream…Where is yours?”

Posted by Lauren

“Laura Liz Partoon is remarkable. While still at school (she’s just left and is hoping to go to Roehampton University), she set up her own campaign,The Stresses and Strains of School. Her aim, as you can see from her short video above is to promote and improve the mental health and wellbeing of students.”

“I’ve seen friends go through the pressures of school and drop out of courses because of stress,” she says. “I’ve seen other people stay on but suffer from depression because of the stress of all the work. I think there needs to be a system to help young people cope.” That’s why she does what she does…

Posted by Lauren