Mental Health: Sir John Kirwan

How to go from surviving to thriving with All Black legend and mental health advocate Sir John Kirwan. John is one of the greatest rugby union players of all time, but it's his work around mental health that led to him being knighted. When he was one of the most high profile players in the world, John had a serious mental health crisis. Thoughts of suicide eventually prompted to him to seek help, which sent him on a wellness journey that led him to being one of the faces of the mental health campaign in his home country, and it's there that he's now launched the free Mentemia app to help people cope during the coronavirus crisis.

In this episode, John shares lessons from reaching the very top of his sport, including setting a goal and 'paying the price' to reach it. He talks about the beauty of the Italian culture and what we can all learn from the way they value connection and 'breaking bread'. And he shares his daily mental health plan, which includes taking time to unplug your brain several times throughout the day just as you would turn your computer off and on again when it starts playing up. John also explains why he is someone who needs 'active relaxation', as opposed to a tool like like meditation, and he shares wisdom on how you can discover pursuits that can help calm your inner monkey down. And John and Simon touch on ways to get feel-good hormones going round your body, including taking time to connect as well as doing random acts of kindness. As ever, please get in touch @simonmundie