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Hi Reader,

You can tell it’s February — the gym’s starting to thin out already.

The “new year, new me” crowd has quietly disappeared, the headlines are still shouting, and most people are just getting on with it — a bit more tired than they expected to be by now.

If you went by the rhetoric alone — documentaries like Frontline, rolling news, political soundbites — you’d think we were on the brink of war with Russia.

But that’s not what people are actually talking about.

What’s coming up far more in real conversations isn’t outrage — it’s strain.

Missed mortgage payments no one wants to admit to.
Developments paused because it no longer makes financial sense to build.
WhatsApp groups full of worry, not opinions.
People holding it together, but only just.

No crisis. Just a lot of people quietly stretched.

This month’s blogs look past the headlines and into what’s actually affecting people — pressure in high performance, the rise of self-diagnosed mental health, and why so many friendships are quietly going silent.

No hype. No panic.
Just real conversations about what people are carrying — and what might actually help.

— Mike

✍️ This month on the blog and in upcoming sessions, we’ll explore:

• 🧠 How Far Is Too Far? – Mental Health in Elite Performance​
  High standards aren’t the issue — silence is. This piece examines where ambition crosses into harm, why “resilience” is often misused, and what sustainable performance actually requires in high-pressure environments.
• 🔍 1 in 2 People Now Self-Diagnose Their Mental Health​
  This isn’t about blame — it’s about access, trust, and what happens when people feel the system isn’t working for them.
  A closer look at what self-diagnosis really tells us about mental health support in the UK right now.
• 💬 Why Don’t My Friends Talk to Each Other Anymore?​
  No fallouts. No drama. Just distance.
  This blog explores modern loneliness, quiet disconnection, and why so many people feel isolated despite being constantly “in touch.”
• 📅 Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) — 23rd & 24th March (Online) If you want to support others more confidently — without burning yourself out — this course is about practical skills, boundaries, and real-world conversations. Not scripts. Not platitudes. You’ll also find space this month to reflect, reset expectations, and take small but meaningful steps — for yourself and the people around you.

🌍 Resilience at the Edge

One of the biggest wellbeing stories globally right now isn’t making headlines — it’s quietly unfolding.

Across countries and sectors, trust in institutions, leaders, and systems is wearing thin. Governments. Media. Employers. Even healthcare. Large international surveys point to confidence sitting at historic lows — and for most people, that simply matches how life feels day to day.

What people describe isn’t anger.
It’s resignation.

There’s a widening gap between what’s promised and what’s experienced.
Affordable housing that never arrives.
Job security that feels fragile.
Announcements that repeat, without resolution.

When trust drops, behaviour changes.

Teams become guarded.
Organisations slide into “us and them”.
People stop speaking up — not because they don’t care, but because it feels pointless.

At work, this shows up as disengagement rather than protest. Doing just enough to stay safe. Avoiding visibility. Waiting things out.

And when trust erodes for long enough, we start searching for “strong” leaders — often repeating the same cycle when accountability doesn’t follow.

Rebuilding trust isn’t about big statements.

It’s consistency.
Admitting mistakes.
Doing what you said you’d do — especially when it’s inconvenient.
And replacing one-way messaging with real conversation.

🎧 One thing that actually helps when your mind won’t switch off

If you’ve gone into 2026 thinking, “Something needs to change” — but you’re not interested in fixing yourself, optimising everything, or adding another habit — this might be worth your attention.

Most people I work with don’t lack motivation.
They lack mental space.

Too wired to focus properly.
Too tired to rest deeply.
Stuck in that constant half-on state.

That’s why I use Brain.fm.​

Not as a miracle fix — but as support.

It uses sound, grounded in neuroscience, to help your brain shift state when willpower isn’t enough:

• Focus mode when you want flow, not force
• Sleep mode when your body’s tired but your mind won’t slow down
• Relax mode when your nervous system needs space to breathe

I only recommend things I genuinely use — and this has become a quiet part of my working and recovery day.

No hype.
No hacks.
Just something practical that helps your brain do what it’s already trying to do.

🎧 Try Brain.fm free — and see how it feels in your own body, not just in theory.

Here’s what’s inside this month’s edition:

🧠 How far is too far? From elite sport to everyday work, high performance is often praised long after it begins to cause harm. This blog explores when pushing through stops being a strength —and starts costing more than it gives. If you’re still delivering but feeling worn thin, this is worth five minutes.⬇️ Read article

🔍 Why are so many people self-diagnosing? Nearly half of people now identify their own mental health condition — not out of trend, but out of necessity. This blog looks at what’s driving it, what it says about access to support, and where self-diagnosis helps — and where it quietly harms. If you’ve ever Googled your symptoms at 2am, this one will land. 🔗 Click the link to read the article ⬇️ Read article ​

💬 When friendships go quiet No fallouts. No drama. Just silence. This blog explores how busyness, emotional fatigue, and fear of being a burden are reshaping friendships — and leaving many people feeling disconnected. If you’ve noticed the gaps but haven’t known how to name them, this one’s worth a read. 🔗 Click the link to read the article ⬇️ Read article

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🔥 Mental Health First Aid — when good intentions aren’t enough

Most people don’t freeze in a mental health crisis because they don’t care.
They freeze because they’re scared of saying the wrong thing.

This Mental Health First Aid course isn’t about ticking a box or memorising scripts.
It’s about knowing how to respond — calmly, confidently, and humanly — when it actually matters.

📅 23rd–24th March 2026​
🕘 9:00am–5:00pm
💻 Live, online, fully interactive

This course is for you if:

• people come to you with heavy stuff — and you’re not sure what to do next
• you’re in HR or leadership and want confidence, not just policy
• you care about wellbeing but don’t want to absorb everyone else’s stress

🌟 What past learners say:​
“Practical, grounded, and genuinely confidence-building. This wasn’t theory — it changed how I show up at work.”

Why people book late — and regret it:
They assume they’ll cope when something happens.
Until it does.

This will be the last MHFA course I’m running for a while — and places are intentionally limited to keep it safe, practical, and interactive.

🎟️ Book you place now​

📚 What I’m Reading, Watching & Listening To 🎧🎬

You know that feeling when a book, podcast, or film completely shifts your perspective? Or when you binge on something so good, you immediately want to tell everyone about it?

Well, this is that space. Whether it’s a mind-blowing book, a documentary I can’t stop talking about, or a podcast that made me rethink everything, here’s what’s been filling my brain (and occasionally distracting me from work).

Curious? Dive in. 👇

📚 The Chain Sir Bradley Wiggins Hands down one of the best books I’ve read in years. Unflinching, honest, and deeply human. Wiggins doesn’t hold back — childhood trauma, sexual abuse, a painfully complex relationship with his father, the pressures of fame, drink, drugs, marriage, and the quiet support of his children that helped pull him back.

🎬 Pole to Pole Will Smith Compelling viewing. Funny, emotional, and serious in its intent — without ever feeling preachy. Inspired by a late mentor, Will Smith travels through some of the world’s most extreme and fragile environments, guided by scientists and local experts. What stands out isn’t the celebrity, but the perspective: habitats under threat, wildlife on the edge, and people doing vital work far from the spotlight. I was fortunate to see Will Smith years ago at Nelson Mandela’s 90th birthday — and this series carries a similar energy: humility, curiosity, and a reminder that the world is bigger than our own concerns. Well worth your time.

🎧 Music In Me Lindsey Webster Music in Me has been on repeat. Warm, soulful, and beautifully produced. There’s a reason she’s so highly regarded in contemporary jazz — her voice is effortless, grounded, and emotionally spot on. Smooth without being bland. Polished without losing feeling. Well worth exploring more of her albums if this one lands for you.

💫 That’s a wrap for February.

January was busy — properly busy.

It took me from Chez Vegas (aka Chesterfield) to Wales, Leicestershire, and London. Training days, travel, early starts, and conversations that stayed with me long after they ended.

By the time February arrived, what stood out wasn’t burnout — it was how little space most people are giving themselves between one thing and the next.

That’s why I keep coming back to small, intentional pauses. Not retreats. Not big resets. Just moments that interrupt the spiral and help you respond rather than react. It’s the thinking behind the 12 Second Reset — something I use myself between sessions, before difficult conversations, and when I notice I’m carrying more than I need to.

If you’re looking for practical support you can dip into, I’ve pulled together a Resources section on the site — free downloads, simple tools like the 12 Second Reset, and previous blogs and newsletters if you’ve missed any. Nothing to sign up for. Just things that might help.

And the thought I’m taking out of February is simple:

Mental strength isn’t about keeping pace. It’s about knowing when to pause — and actually taking it.

— Mike

Let’s Stay Connected! 🔗💬

💡 If something in this newsletter resonated, challenged you, or made you pause — let’s talk.

Whether you’re feeling the pressure of the budget, battling quiet stress, or facing your own hurricane in life… you don’t have to navigate it alone.

📩 Email me directly: hello@mikelawrence.co.uk
💬 Follow, share, or drop me a message — connection isn’t just part of the work — it is the work.

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