Off the top of your head podcast

MHFA England Ambassador, Chloe Davies joins Simon Blake to talk about Pride, why it is still important and what allyship and advocacy mean to her. 

Prepare to be inspired as Sarah McIntosh, a dedicated Mental Health First Aider from MHFA England, joins us on "Off the Top of Your Head" podcast. Sarah’s journey reveals the power of opening up essential conversations about mental health and the profound benefits of a holistic approach in the workplace.  Gain insights on strategic planning, policy implementation, and continuous support...

Finding moments for movement doesn’t have to be going for a 5km run – it could be putting on your favourite music and dancing around the living room, doing some standing exercises while you wait for the kettle to boil, or taking a walking meeting.  In our final episode of ‘Off the top of your head’ podcast for Mental Health Awareness Week, Ben Davie, fitness mindset coach, talks about how we can m...

**CONTENT WARNING: Mentions depression, anxiety, and serious mental illness** “Whether the gym, riding a bike, dancing, yoga, or any kind of movement, however you are struggling with your mental health, it’s vitally important to keep moving.”  Simon speaks to Hannah Moore and Shizana Arshad from Centre for Mental Health. Hannah has a long-standing history of mental health conditions and talks abou...

MHFA England® Chair, consultant, and keynote speaker Adah Parris talks to Simon about how she explores movement for creativity and how 'shaking it out' can inspire us no matter where we are working.

Michael Gunning, former professional swimmer and Stonewall Ambassador, and Polly Shute, Co-Founder of OUTspoken Speaker Network and Out & Wild Festival, talk to Simon about encouraging movement within LGBTQIA+ communities 

Being able to boost our mental health through movement shouldn’t be a luxury. Yet many people face barriers, with approaches to movement often being restrictive and exclusionary.  In this episode of the ‘Off the top of your head’ podcast, award-winning disabled content creator and public speaker Gem Turner talks about how we must encourage people to find moments for movement which work best for th...

**CONTENT WARNING: Mentions suicide, depression, and poor mental health** In today’s episode, Anil Toraty, Senior Director at Visa, talks to Simon about his lived experience of suicide thoughts and how running helps him look after his mental health.

Dr Julia Jones, neuroscientist and author, joins the 'Off the top of your head' podcast to share the neuroscience behind why movement matters to our mental health and how we can 'hack' our routines to help.

** Content warning: Contains references to poor mental health, suicide, self harm, anxiety, and depression ** Simon Blake is joined by Chief Executive of the Mental Health Foudation, Mark Rowland to discuss the upcoming Mental Health Awareness Week (13-19 May 2024) and why movement if good for our mental health. 

This series we're looking look at a new campaign by MHFA England; My Whole Self . To create mentally healthy workplaces, people need to feel safe to be their ‘whole self’ at work. So how can we create workforces, wherever that may be, where everyone has the freedom to do this? To find out, Simon has gathered leaders from across the worlds of business, sport, and more... Our final guest of the...

This series we're looking look at a new campaign by MHFA England; My Whole Self . To create mentally healthy workplaces, people need to feel safe to be their ‘whole self’ at work. So how can we create workforces, wherever that may be, where everyone has the freedom to do this? To find out, Simon has gathered leaders from across the worlds of business, sport, and more... Our special guest this...

Simon Blake OBE returns for a second series of Just About Coping. This series we're looking look at a new campaign by MHFA England; My Whole Self . To create mentally healthy workplaces, people need to feel safe to be their ‘whole self’ at work. So how can we create workforces, wherever that may be, where everyone has the freedom to do this? To find out, Simon has gathered leaders from across...

Simon Blake OBE returns for a second series of Just About Coping. This series we're looking look at a new campaign by MHFA England; My Whole Self . To create mentally healthy workplaces, people need to feel safe to be their ‘whole self’ at work. So how can we create workforces, wherever that may be, where everyone has the freedom to do this? To find out, Simon has gathered leaders from across...

Simon Blake OBE returns for a second series of Just About Coping. This series we're looking look at a new campaign by MHFA England; My Whole Self . To create mentally healthy workplaces, people need to feel safe to be their ‘whole self’ at work. So how can we create workforces, wherever that may be, where everyone has the freedom to do this? To find out, Simon has gathered leaders from across...

Simon Blake OBE returns for a second series of Just About Coping. This series we're looking look at a new campaign by MHFA England; My Whole Self . To create mentally healthy workplaces, people need to feel safe to be their ‘whole self’ at work. So how can we create workforces, wherever that may be, where everyone has the freedom to do this? To find out, Simon has gathered leaders from across...

Simon Blake OBE returns for a second series of Just About Coping with more discussion of self-care, workplace wellbeing, and the future of mental health. This series will look at a new campaign by MHFA England; My Whole Self . To create mentally healthy workplaces, people need to feel safe to be their ‘whole self’ at work. When people can be their whole self, they are empowered to think bigger, bo...

For the final episode of the series Simon caught up with long-time friend, activist, writer and the 'Queen of Kindness' Phyll Opoku-Gyimah. Phyll, who you may know as Lady Phyll, is the Co-Founder and Director of UK Black Pride, and currently the Executive Director of the Kaleidoscope Trust, an international charity working to uphold and advance human rights for LGBT+ people. Before that...

Tony Piper is a stress, burnout and leadership coach. After 27 years in the IT profession, Tony shared with Simon his expertise on stress in the workplace, why it happens, and looked at this year's WHO definition of burnout as an 'occupational phenomenon'. Simon and Tony touched on: What burnout physically looks like, and how to spot it in yourself The importance of line managers in...

Simon had the pleasure of sitting down with international mental health campaigner and pioneer Poppy Jaman OBE. Poppy is the CEO of the City Mental Health Alliance (CMHA), a membership organisation that works with large city firms to transform their workplaces into mentally healthy environments. She also just happens to be a former CEO and Co-Founder of Mental Health First Aid England! Poppy talke...

This week, Simon caught up with Ryan Atkin, who is currently the only openly gay professional referee in English men's football. After coming out in 2017, Ryan has become an LGBT+ in sport advocate, Stonewall Sports Champion, and diversity and inclusion campaigner. Simon and Ryan's wide-ranging conversation touched on a number of topics, including: The progress being made in sport around...

**Content Warning** This episode contains discussion of a suicidal crisis and suicidal ideation. Jonny Benjamin MBE is a writer, filmmaker, public speaker, and award-winning mental health campaigner. Since starting his YouTube channel in 2010, Jonny has gone on to make documentaries for BBC Three and Channel 4 and write a book about the time he was prevented from attempting suicide in 2008 by a pa...

NHS doctor, TV presenter, and star of Strictly Come Dancing Dr Ranj Singh joined Simon for a catch-up in this week's Just About Coping. As well as still being a practicing clinician, you'll know Ranj from ITV's This Morning, where he is the resident health expert, and for his new best-selling book Save Money, Lose Weight . Ranj had a huge amount to say on the subject of mental healt...

Alex Leon is a BAME, LGBT+ and mental health awareness activist. When he's not working for the Kaleidoscope Trust , a leading charity working to uphold equality in human right for LGBT+ people across the world, he's also a journalist, campaigner, and YouTuber . As well as talking about Alex's work, Simon and Alex discussed their experiences of being gay, racism, intersectionality an...

Simon's first guest is writer, performer, comedian, and the 'poster girl for mental health' Ruby Wax OBE. Since her groundbreaking show 'Losing It' in 2011 which focused on her mental health issues, Ruby has written three best-selling books on mental health and wellbeing. She holds a master's degree in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy from Oxford University and is...