In this episode I speak with David Pope who is a private counsellor specializing in bereavement, depression and anxiety, currently counseling clients over zoom and face-to-face. David has struggled with depression anxiety and suicidal ideation for most of his life and his battles with mental illness began at six years old. He was bullied throughout school and suffered a double bereavement when he was 25 years old, losing both his parents within a year of each other. His continuous battles with depression and anxiety fuelled his quest to find daily coping mechanisms and strategies to combat his mental illness. 

David is passionate about sharing physical and cognitive techniques to deal with mental illness and launched an online video course called Depression A New Hope. He also has a guided meditation podcast entitled "The Minds That Matter Guided Meditations".

His website is healyourgrief.co.uk

And his podcast can be found on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/5aji0nwAlmrWVLsL7bgXda

If you or someone you know needs support around depression, suicidal thoughts or survival, or substance use please know you are not alone and there is support:

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Hotline 1-800-662-4357 https://www.samhsa.gov/