Resilience Brilliance

In the run up to World Mental Health Day (10 October), we spoke with Dame Katherine Grainger, female Olympic athlete and the first British woman to win medals at five successive Olympic games.

Katherine’s international rowing career took off in 1997 when she won gold and set a new record at the World under 23 Rowing Championships. She went on to win six world championships titles and she struck gold at the 2012 London Olympics.

She talks to us about juggling her career and academic studies, dealing with setbacks and swapping the boat for the board room

During the pandemic, some of us will have experienced caring for others – helping family members or neighbours with shopping and prescriptions, and wellbeing calls – things that young carers have been managing all their lives while balancing school, studying and finding their place in the world.

This Children’s Mental Health Week, Paul Maher, Director of High Value Relationships at The Children’s Society, and Melissa Moody, journalist and young adult carer, offer us a glimpse into the world of a young carer – the challenges they face during the pandemic and how we can all be a better supporter to anyone who finds themselves in a caring role.

In the run up to Time to Talk Day, Resilience Brilliance podcast hosts Paula and Alex sat down with Mind’s Head of Information, Stephen Buckley, and mental health ambassador Antonio Ferreira.

Antonio was diagnosed with schizophrenia when he was just 16. Finding a way to talk about his mental health with friends and family was difficult at first, but that started to change after he became more open and began to share his story. In this episode, Stephen and Antonio share their personal tips for resilience and their advice on how to be a good friend and supporter to someone who’s living with a severe mental health condition.

We chat to the inspirational Sarah Ellis, Amazing If co-founder, about her career journey and the mental health impacts of putting on a persona at work.

By eventually giving herself permission to be her true self and learning to ‘squiggle’ and experiment in her career, Sarah redirected her energy to thrive and succeed and ultimately launch her award-winning business.

On the Bupa Foundation's Wellbeing for Educators programme, teachers often share with us the stress they’re under, especially right now.

Anna Russell, Foundation Director, caught up with leading clinical psychologist, Dr Bill Mitchell, about how teachers can look after themselves and recharge over the Christmas break.

As we reach the final week of term, we’re wishing everyone working in schools a relaxing break – you deserve it more than ever.

We had the pleasure of talking with London grime MC Ashley Weir (aka Stickz) and Peter Leigh, CEO of Key Changes, about the transformative effects of music on mental health.

Stickz likens performing to therapy and explains how his art – through support from Key Changes – has empowered him deal with many personal challenges he’s faced including the death of his mum, being stabbed and living with bipolar disorder.

Peter’s early background working with UK labels and his passion for music has created a brilliant foundation to develop Key Changes’ award-winning music recovery programme for young people experiencing mental health problems.

It’s clear from Peter and Stickz’ positivity and energy why everyone wants to pick up the mic after joining Key Changes. This episode will leave you buzzing!

This episode has all the positivity feels! Yvonne Hope, CEO of Barnabus, shares how her faith led her to work with the homelessness charity 8 years ago and how her work serving the community gives her purpose.

Growing up, Yvonne didn’t feel as if she belonged anywhere. Along the way she’s learned that if you surround yourself with positive like-minded people – like her colleagues at Barnabus – you can create your own community and place in the world.

Yvonne’s positivity and humour is truly infectious and we guarantee you’ll finish this episode with a smile on your face and a pocket full of resilience tips.

In this episode, we hear how Coding Black Females was born and how this non-profit organisation is empowering and inspiring the next generation of Black females to achieve success.

Join Charlene Hunter, Software Developer and Founder of Coding Black Females and Tanya Powell, Software Engineer and Mentor as they discuss personal challenges they’ve faced along the way and what inspires them to keep pushing for inclusion within the industry.

You don’t need to be a coder to find inspiration from Charlene and Tanya's stories and ambition!

Paula and Alex meet two outstanding leaders who are passionate about tackling inequalities and breaking down barriers in the local community. Ian Parkes, CEO at East London Business Alliance, and Safia Jama, Founder and CEO at Women's Inclusive Team, share their experiences of leading charities through what has been a challenging year for everyone.

Ian and Safia share stories and lessons they’ve learned along the way and how community spirit gives them hope for the future.

Join Ali Oliver MBE CEO of Youth Sport Trust and Joanna Coates CEO of UK Athletics in this episode about the power of sport and physical activity to build resilience.

We hear incredible stories about how sports have helped changed people’s lives, and Alex and Paula learn that you don’t have to be sporty to benefit from getting active!

Plus find out how the new school movement ‘Well Schools’ is helping to create an education culture built on the foundation of physical, social and emotional wellbeing among students and staff.