Why Don’t My Friends and I Talk to Each Other More?
Why don’t my friends and I talk to each other more? Mike Lawrence explores emotional overwhelm, the sandwich generation, and why silence doesn’t mean people don’t care. That line stopped me mid-scroll. On my weekly dive into what’s happening across the wellbeing landscape, I came across an article by Annabel Streets exploring the pressure facing […]
Why Christmas Leaves So Many People Exhausted
(And it’s not the food, the alcohol, or a lack of gratitude) New Year motivation January often fades quickly — not because people fail, but because real life, emotional overload, and unrealistic expectations collide. For something that’s meant to be joyful, Christmas leaves a surprising number of people feeling drained, flat, and quietly relieved when […]
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): The Winter Mental Health Issue Hiding in Plain Sight
Millions feel it every year — most never realise what’s really happening Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a winter-specific form of depression linked to reduced daylight and disrupted circadian rhythms. While many people were still celebrating, recovering, or easing into the New Year, a different conversation was happening. On New Year’s Day, I was invited […]
International Men’s Day 2025: The Moment That Stopped Me in My Tracks
I was driving between client sessions this afternoon with LBC on in the background, half-listening, half-planning the rest of my day. Then something made me turn the volume up. Wes Streeting was on air with Tom Swarbrick discussing the newly unveiled Men’s Health Strategy. What should have been a breakthrough moment kept drifting toward political […]
How to Reduce Stress — Even When Life Feels Out of Control
Free Live Webinar | Tuesday 19 November | 2:00 PM GMT Have you ever wished you could just get through a week — even a single day — without feeling stressed? You wake up tired.You go to bed wired.And somewhere between the constant pings, the bills, and the pressure to “keep it all together,” you […]
The November Budget and Your Mind: When the Numbers Start Messing With Your Head
“Budgets don’t just affect your wallet — they mess with your mind.” For months we’ve been told the same thing on repeat:“Come November, you’ll have to pay more.” The £20 billion black hole.The “we’ve inherited a mess.”The graphs, the panels, the pundits.One economist warning how much more your pint will cost, another dissecting mortgage rates. […]
“We Have Life, But We’ve Been Wiped Out”
A Personal Reflection from Westmoreland, Jamaica — and What the Diaspora Must Do Now Six years ago to the day, I stood in Westmoreland Parish, Jamaica, to bury my father. The land, the people, the stillness — it’s etched into my soul. I remember the warmth of neighbours, the weight of legacy, and the comfort […]
🧠 Surviving & Thriving: My Pituitary Comeback Story
“One day I was teaching mental health — the next, I was the patient.” Two years ago, I stood at the front of a training room in London, delivering a Mental Health First Aid course. By the next morning, I was lying in a hospital bed three hours from home, diagnosed with a pituitary tumour. […]
✈️ Berlin Notebook: Test the Trainer’s Patience
What do cancelled flights, double rainbows, and missed alarms have in common? Turns out, they all teach you how to lead. Four days. One cancelled flight (last year). Two alarms (this year). Countless lessons. September 2024 — Munich (The Wonka Ticket Week) Checked in. Sat down. Then the big neon boards flashed: CANCELLED. Cue the […]
⚠️ A Stark Warning: Are We Outsourcing Our Darkest Thoughts to AI?
When compassion meets code — and why the human connection still matters. Right now, millions of people are turning to AI — not for work, but for warmth. For comfort. For understanding. For a voice that never tires and a presence that never judges. It’s fast. It’s free. It’s always available. But here’s the question […]
What’s Going On With All These Migrants?
The UK’s migrant crisis is also a mental health emergency. A recent visit to my mum in Sheffield brought this question home—literally. She was settled on her favourite settee, the telly murmuring in the corner, and a stack of Sheffield Star newspapers balanced on the armrest. Then out of nowhere, she blurted it out: “What’s […]
Changing the Suicide Story in South Yorkshire
Every year, we raise awareness—but what if we changed the conversation for good? A few years ago, suicide felt like something that happened quietly, out there, to other people. Now? Most of us know someone. A friend. A family member. A colleague. A neighbour. Maybe not well—but well enough to feel the ripple. For me, […]
Leave Your Problems at the Door: The Hidden Cost of Silence on Workplace Mental Health
Why ‘bring your whole self to work’ still feels risky—and what we need instead. The Unspoken Rule Still Haunting Workplaces By Mike Lawrence “Leave your problems at the door.” That’s what I was told starting out as a young lad in Sheffield. Turn up. Crack on. Don’t complain. Don’t share. And for a long time, […]
Rust-Out? Oh Great, Another Workplace Buzzword… Or Is It?
First, we had burnout. Then, there is quiet quitting. Then wellbeing washing. And now? Rust-out. Because apparently we didn’t have enough ways to describe feeling dead inside at work. You might be thinking, “Do we really need another term for feeling crap at work?” Fair. I thought the same. But hear me out… Rust-out isn’t […]
The Eyes Have It: Unlocking the Cost of Holding It All Together
Leadership isn’t always a show of strength—it’s often an exercise in survival.Summary:Recently in Westminster, Rachel Reeves’ visible emotion sparked headlines calling her everything from weak to refreshingly honest. But behind the commentary is a deeper question: What does it really cost to hold it all together in public? This piece explores why leaders crack, why […]