The Mind Manual: Mental Fitness Tools for Everyone (Dr Alex George)

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This has been an extremely challenging twelve months for young people across the country, which has had a profound impact on their mental health. It’s very welcome that the Prime Minister and Dr Alex George took the time to listen to the experiences and ideas of young people today, to learn about how COVD-19 has impacted their mental health and what more can be done to help. By 2021 he had signed up for the King’s College Master’s course in Public Health with its focus on mental health. He lobbied the Government on child mental health capacity during the pandemic. He started to write books, first, Live Well, Every Day, then, A Better Day (a mental health primer for kids) and the one being discussed today, The Mind Manual. For George, that means walking ("a lifeline for me"), a few close friends and hiit classes at the gym. Your Mind Is Renewed To The Degree That It Dictates Your Daily Actions!” ~ Curry Blake When dealing with the mind, the Body of Christ has often fallen into

I started #postyourpill as a reflection of when I first started taking antidepressants. I had the pill in my hand and looked down and thought: ‘Gosh, is this where I’m at?’ There was a degree of shame around it, and I thought, hang on, that’s not right.”

It affected my desire for the gym, it affected the way I ate, it affected the relationship I had with myself – so I had a really honest conversation with myself." Since he has started his mental health campaigning, he has received thousands of messages from people who he has helped, thanking him. I haven't worked in a hospital for two years,” he says, “I was at the verge of burnout. The pandemic was very hard. After Llŷr died I was resolved to try and do something about the mental health crisis we're in. Plus I'm trying to work in hospital [at the same time],” and, as he says, by 2021, barely a year after his brother has gone, “I was in an incredibly dark place.”

Alex said he wanted to use his experience positively and came up with the idea of sharing it as a social media post. His friends suggested coming up with a hashtag to help raise awareness about taking medication and antidepressants.

Me being an ardent Liverpool fan, we laughed off the Liverpool-Man United rivalry here. “It’s all fun and banter”, joked Alex. It’s so important the Prime Minister hears directly from young people, because sometimes we are not involved in conversations, which concern us and our futures. The best way to create real change and improve support for young people with mental health problems is to consider the experiences and of those affected. This opportunity will allow us as young people to not just be heard, but also make important contributions to such an important issue.” Paul Farmer, Chief Executive of Mind, says: It was really great to speak with both the Prime Minister and Dr Alex George this morning. I am pleased that they are committed to fighting such an important issue and hope that the insights of young people can help them bring about the most effective change.” Heartbreakingly, George had been due to go home to Carmarthen, Wales, to see his family for the first time since the pandemic. "The week before my brother passed away, my best friend’s dad was terminally unwell and I stayed in London. In that time that I stayed, my brother passed away, so I could have seen him. Health and happiness come from the cumulative effects of many small and positive daily changes to our lifestyle. It's about building sustainable and healthy habits - taking small and purposeful steps to a healthy future. By the end of the book I hope my readers have developed their own 'bespoke health toolkit' to be used across every aspect of their lives, and to make long-lasting and meaningful change."