Stories
Irene’s London Marathon volunteering story
My name is Irene. I’m from Uruguay and I moved to London with my husband one and a half years ago. When The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and The Duke of Sussex launched the Heads Together campaign, I was still living in Uruguay. Being someone who has suffered from mental health issues since I…
The Duke of Sussex & Oprah Winfrey announce new mental health documentary series
Building on his long-standing work to change the conversation on mental health, The Duke of Sussex and Oprah Winfrey have announced that they’re working together on a new, multi-part series for Apple talking about mental health. The series will explore mental illness and mental wellness, and will focus on encouraging people to talk about the…
Vanessa Bauer: The pressure of a figure skating career when coping with depression and bulimia
*This blog contains descriptions of an eating disorder that some readers may find triggering As a professional figure skater, people see you as an Ice Princess in glamorous shows, wearing sparkly dresses while being applauded by amazed audiences. That is the case, for about 1% of your career. What people don’t see is the decades…
Sophia’s journey from young carer to supporting others at the YMCA
Thank you so much for taking the time to sit down with us, Sophia, and coming all the way to London from Swansea for the day! To start with, can you tell us a bit about how you got involved with YMCA? I first went to YMCA when I was seventeen. I was a home-school…
“Trying to hide my mental health difficulties because I felt ashamed of them didn’t make them go away”
I am still only 18 years old but I hope that sharing my story will encourage others to talk about how they are really feeling with someone they trust – however hard this may be. In 2016, I was in Year 10/11 at a highly regarded girls’ grammar school in Kent. I always felt academic…
