Are you struggling right now? Around 10 million people experience depression or anxiety (7 million) every week in the UK, with one in four people exper128iencing it every year. 35 million people suffer from anxiety in any given year in the US. That's one person in every household. Mental illness is a global pandemic and it's already here. The number of people suffering from mental illness is currently unprecedented and spiralling upwards.
Being human is not a disease, yet our ‘civilisation’ is a petri dish of emotional pathology.
A 2022 survey of children and young people’s mental health found that 18% of children aged 7-16 had a probable mental disorder in 2022, up from 12% in 2017. The United Nations Declaration states that "Humankind owes to the child the best it has to give." Plato, perhaps the greatest philosopher of all time, said "Let parents bequeath to their children not riches, but the spirit of reverence." Among those aged 17-19, 10% (one in ten) had a mental disorder in 2017, rising to 26% (over a quarter) in 2022.
Nearly half (43%) of adults (25 million people in England) think that they have had a diagnosable mental health condition at some point in their lives. 61% of adults with mental health conditions don’t access treatment due to stigma.
The amount of people with common mental health problems went up by 20% between 1993 to 2014, in both men and women. 14% of deaths worldwide, or approximately eight million deaths each year, are attributable to mental disorders. This is the same as the total number of COVID-19 deaths so far; and it's every year. There are one million suicides per year: That is one every 40 seconds.
98% of people agree that mentally ill people experience stigma and discrimination. Nearly 9 out of 10 people with mental health problems say that stigma and discrimination have a negative effect on their lives.
1 in 5 people in England (approximately 11 million adults) have suicidal thoughts. Suicide kills 18 people every day in the UK. There is an alarming increase in suicidal intentions amongst women. 822,000 people suffered from common mental health problems like stress, depression or anxiety due to their workplace in 2020/21. 55% of workers say their employment has an adverse effect on their mental health. 71% of the people would worry about telling their employer if they had a mental health condition, for fear of getting a negative response. This is a horrific statistic.
74% of UK adults have felt so stressed at some point over the last year they felt overwhelmed or unable to cope. Do you feel like this? Or does someone in your family or friendship group?
In the UK the total cost to employers of mental health problems among their staff is estimated at nearly £26 billion each year. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) found that promoting the mental wellbeing of employees can yield economic benefits for the business or organisation, in terms of increased commitment and job satisfaction, staff retention, improved productivity and performance, and reduced staff absenteeism. And it's the right thing to do!
Wellbeing needs to become a mainstream issue, not a 'nod' from an untrained human resources department.
A staggering 85% of doctors have experienced mental health issues. Forty one per cent of affected doctors did not discuss their issues with anyone, through fear, and a quarter (24%) felt that there is a stigma attached to mental health issues. Yet the institutions that are supposed to look after doctors are failing miserably.
As a society, we are doing it all wrong. As Dr Gabor Maté wrote "Illness in this society, physical or mental, they are not abnormalities. They are normal responses to an abnormal culture. This culture is abnormal when it comes to real human needs." For many, being alive has become intolerably painful.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) reports that more lives are lost due to suicide than due to all wars, murders, state executions, and terrorist attacks, combined. In the Western World, self-harm and suicide is the main cause of death for people between the ages of 15 and 49: It has overtaken heart disease and cancer. In the book by Frank Tallis 'The Act of Living' it states that "The incidence of mental illness has become so high that the provision of care for those affected is no longer possible." Wellbeing and psychological health have been awarded special significance in 'happiness economics', though very little has changed. All unhappy countries eventually become poor countries. Psychological problems are the most common reason for people taking time off work. Hundreds of billions of dollars are lost annually. The economic burden of depression alone on the US economy is estimated at 210 billion dollars per year, a figure greater than the combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of many smaller countries, due to reduced productivity and 'early retirement'. Based on 2010 data, the global economic cost of mental illness was calculated to be 2.5 trillion dollars. And yet medical institutions and government bodies continue to bury their heads in the sinking quick-sand, pretending that it isn't happening right now.
According to the WHO, various indices of the severity of mental illness have quadrupled in recent years. Rates of self-harm in the UK have doubled between 2000 and 2014. A recent 2019 study published in the Lancet has shown that this rate has increased from 6.5% to 19.7% in girls and women from 16 to 24 years old. There were 71 million prescriptions for anti-depressant medication in the UK in 2018, double the figure for 2008, only a decade earlier. These figures describe a Dystopian society in crisis. Current statistics suggest that so many people are affected by psychological problems that what we have previously called abnormal is becoming increasingly typical. Even those who are not ill are not functioning optimally.
Sydney Banks wrote “Mental health lies within the consciousness of all human beings, but it is shrouded and held prisoner by our own erroneous thoughts.” The role of compassionate institutions would be to gently guide our thinking but most of the institutions that are pretending to lead don't know how to do that: They are more afraid of their own survival than doing the right thing for human beings.
It's no wonder that we are mentally ill. The very nature of our 'Hustle', 'profit-before-people,' culture is making us all ill: We are treated as though we are all disposable. Actually we are indispensible - when the majority of human beings are mentally ill because of the dictates of our culture, we all really need to take a stand on this, changing our culture to one of compassionate leadership. The data shows that 85% of people are dysfunctional. The norm is dysfunctionality.
Mental wellbeing is critical to our survival as a species. Up to 300,000 people with mental health problems lose their jobs each year. Today, it will be you or one of your loved ones.
Yet, there is an even worse pandemic that is already amongst us, that is actually causing the pandemic of mental illness: This is the pandemic of judgement...
Click here for my glossary of transformative terms:
When it's all just too much
What is mental health?
In the film 'The Artist' Doris and George say "I'm unhappy." The reply is "So are millions of us." No-one can bring you joy other than your Self. "The World Health Organisation (WHO) conceptualises mental health as a “State of wellbeing in which the individual realises his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community”.
At the same time, it is worth remembering that, as Matt Haig wrote in 'Reasons to Stay Alive' "There is no standard normal. Normal is subjective. There are seven billion versions of normal on this planet... Mental health problems don’t define who you are. They are something you experience. You walk in the rain and you feel the rain, but you are not the rain." We are all on a spectrum. Being human is characterised by neurodiversity: This is a framework for understanding human brain function and mental illness. It argues that diversity in human cognition is normal and that some conditions classified as mental disorders are differences that are not necessarily pathological.
At the end of the day: You are you. Don’t dwell on labels. Labels are dehumanising forms of judgement. Again, we are all on a spectrum, including you, and everyone else that you know, love, and meet, and only you know who you truly are. You need to find your Self deep inside and stop your fearful ego mind from constantly identifying with the negative self-talk and 'catastrophising', that is not actually thinking. You do this by becoming more mindful and through meditation: You do this by getting out of your mind, and into your heart. As LadyJennie Jerome Churchill, the mother of Sir Winston Churchill, wrote "All natures are in Nature." It's freeing to realise that we are all unique, worthy, human BEings. We are all blessed by having similarities (in that we all have the human condition) and differences, which should be celebrated. Perfectionism only leads to inauthenticity, reaffirmation of the false notion that we are not worthy, and self-sabotage.
The problem lies not in our neurodiversity, which is a gift, but in the stigma and judgement from those (who are also neurodiverse) who lack understanding, clarity, compassion, and wisdom: This is why they judge. As William Shakespeare, the world number one author and spiritual Master, wrote in Hamlet "There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so." Cut any thing and anyone who judges you out of your life. Let them go, right now. They are toxic to who we are as human beings. They are toxic to your soul and to theirs. The ego is who everyone thinks that they are. The soul is who we truly are. Wilson Kanadi wrote "Those who judge will never understand, and those who understand will never judge."
Perhaps, then, the pandemic is not one of mental illness or neurodiversity: Perhaps it is a pandemic of judgement. The pandemic of judgement is far more deadly and evil than the pandemic of neurodiversity. The pandemic of neurodiversity was made by Nature and is unconscious, at least until you do the inner work to make it conscious: The pandemic of judgement, however, is man-made, and conscious. This is actually good news though: We can do something about it. We can stop judging if we choose to. Who are we to judge anyway? Judging is the domain of the tabloid press, toxic tweets, and trolls. People, organisations, and institutions judge in others what they cannot forgive in themselves. Neville Goddard wrote "If a man looks upon any other man and estimates that man as less than himself, then he is stealing from the other. He is stealing the other’s birthright – that of equality."
Rumi wrote "Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there." As I understand it, Rumi was saying that as human beings we get connected with each other in the space that opens up when we let go of our ideas of good and bad, right and wrong. Toxicity and judgement therefore come from those who are disconnected with reality, themselves and each other. Their judgement comes from projection, which is when people project onto others what they can't face and deny in themselves. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that... Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness... There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies." We are all human beings: We are all different yet equally worthy, beautiful, and loveable souls. Because we all feel like we are drowning right now, which we are not and all is actually well, we all try to drown each other. It needn't be that way. The way out is through understanding, forgiveness, and compassion: For oneself and others. As Rumi wrote "If everything around seems dark, look again, you may be the light... If light is in your heart, you will find your way home." Healing the world involves us all walking each other home. “Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive” (Dalai Lama).
Everyone is struggling right now: Wellbeing is critical to every industry. As a doctor who has suffered from mental illness, I feel qualified to give my views on the pandemic that no-one is talking about: The pandemic of mental illness that is already upon us, like an invisible tsunami; as well as the pandemic of judgement. Do you feel like you are struggling right now? If we turn our back on these two tsunamis and pretend that they aren't happening then we will lose mothers and fathers, partners, sons and daughters. We may even not survive as a species. And we will certainly lose our souls.
The WHO states that “Mental health is critically important to everyone, everywhere. All over the world, mental health needs are high but responses are insufficient and inadequate.“ The Director General of the WHO stated that “Ultimately, there is no health without mental health… Mental health is a lot more than the absence of illness: it is an intrinsic part of our individual and collective health and wellbeing. We need to transform our attitudes, actions and approaches to promote and protect mental health, and to provide and care for those in need. We can and should do this by transforming the environments that influence our mental health and by developing community-based mental health services capable of achieving universal health coverage for mental health. As part of these efforts, we must intensify our collaborative action to integrate mental health into primary health care. Our vision is a world where mental health is valued, promoted and protected; where mental health conditions are prevented; where anyone can exercise their human rights and access affordable, quality mental health care; and where everyone can participate fully in society free from stigma and discrimination.” This is a vision that would bring an end to the pandemic of judgement.
This is a beautiful vision, but sadly we are very, very far from that goal in my experience. Elyn R Saks, a professor, lawyer, psychiatrist, and mental health advocate wrote in her autobiography ‘The Centre Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness’ that “Stigma against mental illness is a scourge with many faces, and the medical community wears a number of those faces.” I myself have also found that medical institutions are often totally lacking in understanding, awareness, and compassion when it comes to mental health. There are so many doctors in distress. If we don't look after them, who will look after us? The brilliant German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer wrote "Compassion is the basis of morality." Meister Eckhart, the German philosopher and scholar, wrote "You may call God love, you may call God goodness. But the best name for God is compassion." The Dalai Lama XIV says in 'The Art of Happiness' “If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” The Dalai Lama XIV said “Compassion is the radicalism of our time.” A shift to compassion is required if we want to survive as a species. His Holiness wrote “The topic of compassion is not at all religious business; it is important to know it is human business, it is a question of human survival.” The world-renowned researcher Professor Brené Brown wrote "What we don't need in the midst of struggle is shame for being human." She continues that her academic research showed that the shaming culture we live in makes it harder than ever to show courage and be vulnerable – and somebody had to speak out. 'People are sick and tired of being afraid all the time.'" As Marianne Williamson said in her book 'Tears to Triumph: The Spiritual Journey From Suffering to Enlightenment' "Being human is not a disease." She continued, that the epidemic of depression that we are seeing is a "Collective cry for the healing of our hearts." Mahatma Gandhi said “The problem with the world is that humanity is not in its right mind.” We need therapy less than we need a collective healing of the institutions that 'govern' us. We are being bathed in toxicity and we are expected to cope. We are not coping.
At no point in my medical career did I have a mental health assessment, despite having been employed in over a dozen leading teaching hospitals in London and Cambridge. When I crossed professional boundaries due to mental illness that I was unaware of, I was treated utterly inhumanely, and the institutions that are meant to care for those caring for patients heaped shame and trauma on me, despite their awareness of my childhood trauma, my severe depression, my generalised anxiety disorder and my compulsivity. Shame, trauma, and mental illness were the result of my dysfunctional childhood: How could anyone possibly think that giving a further dose of trauma and shame to someone who was mentally ill as a result of trauma would be a good or compassionate idea, or serve anyone? They also decapitated me rather than allowing me to participate fully free from stigma and discrimination, as recommended by the WHO. To have suffered childhood trauma and the unbearable pain of abandonment from one's own family and then to receive the same from one's profession after so many years of dedication to it is very challenging to bear. Doctors who are mentally ill (85% of all doctors) are terrified of seeking treatment as we know that the regulatory bodies are so antiquated and lack any compassion that they intend only to destroy us. After a three year wait, while I was suspended from practising medicine, I was cross-examined for seven hours, including speaking about my childhood trauma, which should not be done in a non-therapeutic setting, as anyone medically trained would know. It was nothing short of a horrific experience. I would never wish that trauma and horror on anyone. I am not sure how many people would survive it.
The psychiatrist from the regulatory body that assessed me had no training in my condition, and was very derogatory about the concept of personal transformation, showing a total lack of a modern psychiatric approach to mental wellbeing. I was declared medically fit to work by her but was beheaded by the regulatory body and the Royal College (the shameful Royal College of Surgeons of England) that I belonged to in any case. I was not given any support by them at any stage of my career or during the hearing. Fortunately, my own NHS psychiatrist was a much wiser, informed, up-to-date and caring professional, who understood that much of the recovery from mental illness is not just giving medication to numb the pain (one needs to feel emotions in order to grow, know the deepest Truths about life and what it is to be a human being and to recover): Recovery involves a journey of personal transformation to recover your true Self as stated by Carl Jung, the greatest pyschiatrist of all time. What saved my life was not psychiatry or psychotherapy, but it was having a guide who had a much more modern, all-encompassing view of how the world, life and people operate: An Enlightened Witness. As Baruch Spinoza wrote "The highest activity a human being can attain is learning for understanding, because to understand is to be free." When the regulatory bodies have a guillotine as their only tool, it is no wonder that they are decapitating professionals and destroying so many families. There is no tool on their belt labelled 'understanding' or 'compassion'. One has to suspect that either they lack understanding of mental illness, or that they are more afraid of the tabloid press and trolls than of doing the right thing by human beings who are mentally ill, in other words patients, who happen to be doctors. Is this really the kind of world that we want to live in? Plato said "No law or ordinance is mightier than understanding."
Publicly available data shows that two out of three surgeons in some surgical subspecialties have mental health conditions. But no-one, including the Royal College of Surgeons, is doing anything at all about it, out of fear for their own survival. What is the point of these institutions? Over one in five UK surgeons are alcoholics, with many more having other mental health issues. Surgeons have a six times higher suicide rate than the general population despite our resilience. The burnout rate in the NHS is 75 percent. Mentally ill surgeons have a six times higher complication rate. 36 percent of UK surgeons have trauma symptoms, and 12 percent of UK surgeons have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. For a brilliant overview of childhood trauma read the book by Pete Walker 'Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving.' According to "The Body Keeps The Score" by Van Der Kolk, nearly half of childhood trauma survivors numb their feelings with addictions. 75 percent of superachievers suffer in silence from childhood trauma, until it's too late. The effectiveness of medical organisations depends on the wellbeing of doctors. Michael West, professor of organisational psychology, said that the NHS should be run on compassion. In his interview, he says that the total lack of a compassionate view towards NHS staff in regard to their wellbeing has created the workforce staffing crisis in medicine. That is why you are waiting so long for appointments, procedures, and surgery. Doctors don't want to be doctors any more, because we are treated like dogs (and put down) by those who are supposed to care for us: They don't care.
As the WHO states “Most societies and most health and social systems neglect mental health and do not provide the care and support people (yes, doctors are people too) need and deserve. The result is that millions of people around the world suffer in silence, experience human rights violations, or are negatively affected in their daily lives. This should not be the story of mental health, globally or in your country. And it does not have to be… Everyone has a right to mental health. Everyone deserves the chance to thrive.” Do I look like someone who has no 'resilience'?
Despite my efforts to demonstrate insight and remediation the regulatory body demonstrated its outdated archaic ignorance of mental health. I had had three months of intensive psychotherapy with over 200 hours of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT), a full course of Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) treatment for childhood trauma (8 sessions), 100 hours of coaching, a mentor, 6 months training in personal transformation, weekly psychodynamic therapy (a modern form of psychoanalysis) for 18 months, read over 250 books on psychology, mental health, wellbeing, and personal transformation, joined, formed, and run recovery groups with hundreds of members, started regular meditation and yoga, took up long distance running again, got my life into balance, have set up a men's vulnerability group, and have had an awakening of my true Self: I don’t believe that anyone has ever done more to recover.
I have a glowing 40 page CV. I worked in the NHS for 20 years, having performed 14,000 operations for trauma, cancer, and reconstruction without any complaints and having glowing annual appraisals throughout my career. But somehow the regulatory body thought it was best to exclude me when I became mentally ill, despite there being a national waiting list of over seven million patients. It’s really no wonder at all that the NHS is in crisis and meltdown. It is fuc*ed, and deservedly so.
Carl Jung, the founding father of modern psychiatry and psychoanalysis described the journey of mental healing as one of transformation which “Can only happen to you when you walk on a path, which leads you to a higher understanding… Through a reeducation of the mind.” This letter was written in 1961. That was 62 years ago. This is the path that I have walked. One would have thought that medical institutions would have caught up by now on what mental wellbeing should look like. Tragically, I won’t be holding my breath. Henry David Thoreau wrote "Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves." Mental illness is an opportunity to thrive in possibility and find your real personal power, despite those institutions that do their very best to destroy you: Well, you didn't.
There is no compassion for mentally ill doctors. Especially from the medical profession, it's supposed 'recovery groups', which are not actually recovery groups, and the institutions that 'govern' doctors. My experience of them all has been absolutely horrific. Doctors are patients too: We are all human beings the last time I checked. We are sick patients trying to get well, not bad doctors trying to become good. It is well recognised that compassion is essential to recovery and wellbeing.
The medical institutions are broken, they have been told so by their own leaders, and they know it, but they don't know how to become compassionate leaders, or don't want to do anything about it through fear of their own demise: Doctors are voting with their feet, and leaving the profession as quickly as they can. Dame Clare Marx said that she "Emphasises the need for organisations to have leaders that act compassionately and promote wellbeing." Yet they press on, destroying lives. They speak of diversity and inclusion, yet completely forget to include those with mental illness and neurodiversity. This is very convenient for them as it would involve caring for the vast majority of us. Their words are hollow and just a nod to wellbeing, without any substance. Since 2005, 33 doctors have committed suicide whilst under professional investigation: 33 families that have been detonated for generations. Medicine has become institutionalised and those institutions are making doctors sick. All attacks are based on fear: Fear of not surviving. These attacks are made unwittingly and yet they are insidious.
When up to two thirds of the medical workforce is mentally ill it seems easier for our 'leaders' to decapitate those of us who put our heads above the parapet rather than understanding and addressing the reality of the situation. Their only focus is on the tip of the iceberg above the waterline. We all know what happened to the Titanic. Mental illness should not be a death sentence. One would think that doctors and those that supposedly look after their wellbeing should know that. Well, they really don't have any insight: At all.
To anyone going through this horror show, remember that the Truth is that this too shall pass and, as John Green wrote that "There is hope, even when your brain tells you there isn’t." It's ok to be vulnerable, in fact it's the only way to be authentic, connect with others, and to grow. As Brené Brown wrote "Vulnerability sounds like Truth and feels like courage. Truth and courage aren’t always comfortable, but they're never weakness." So, to those institutions that are supposed to lead us, I would suggest that you perhaps stop talking to us about 'resilience', and instead begin to have compassion for us. Would you have survived my childhood trauma? Is it any wonder that more than half of our doctors in training are leaving medicine?
What is a pandemic?
A pandemic is an epidemic (a disease outbreak that is rapidly spreading) occurring on a scale that crosses international boundaries, usually affecting people on a worldwide scale.
Negative experience index has reached a climax
According to Gallup, anger, stress, worry and sadness have been on the rise globally for the past decade, long before the COVID-19 pandemic, and all reached record highs last year.
World’s Negative Experience Index Rises to New High
'The Scream' by Edvard Munch: Is this how you feel right now?
Mental Illness
The Archbishop of Canterbury recently said that "Everyone is a mess." The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that 42 % of U.S. adults exhibited symptoms of anxiety or depression in 2021. Globally, this figure is 70% according to Gallup. Two in three (66%) of GPs in the UK say that the proportion of patients needing help with their mental health has increased in the last 12 months.
Anxiety and depression can destroy wellbeing and eventually the economy. This is especially the case for small businesses, which is where almost 50% of us are employed. Yet mental health isn't taken as seriously as physical wellbeing because doctors understand physical problems so much better than mental problems. In addition, there is much stigma around mental illness, as well as a lack of awareness, and a lack of compassion, especially from the medical community. Mental wellbeing remains a medical 'blind spot' compared with physical wellbeing. This is an astonishing fact in 2023. Chronic and worsening underfunding of mental health is a reflection of this.
What if the pandemic of anxiety and depression change the culture of humankind more than COVID-19 has? It is doing so right now. And no-one is talking about it. Those affected by it (which is the majority of us) are terrified of seeking treatment through fear of condemnation and exclusion. And they are right to do so, as there are legion horror stories like mine. It doesn't make the news because the definition, measurement, and understanding of anxiety and depression have such fuzzy edges compared with the absolute diagnoses of COVID-19 and other diseases, as well as having such stigma attached to them. Yet 75% percent of General Practitioner consultations are due to anxiety right now. We are all struggling: Drowning in a sea of mental illness has become the human condition.
The world took action against COVID-19 by sheltering, distancing, masking and vaccinating. What action can medical leadership take to save the world from the mental health crisis that is spiking right now?
Depression is already one of the leading causes of disability worldwide. People with severe mental health conditions die prematurely – two decades early in fact – due to preventable physical conditions.
People died from the COVID-19 pandemic: We also die from depression and anxiety disorders. The U.S. has seen spikes in deaths from suicide and "deaths of despair."
'Deaths of despair'
These are a new designation made prominent by Princeton economists Anne Case and Nobel laureate Sir Angus Deaton in their book of the same name. These are suicides and deaths caused by fatal behaviours such as drug overdoses and liver failure from chronic alcohol consumption. They have particularly harmed working-class males in the American heartland and increased dramatically since the mid-1990s, from about 65,000 in 1995 to 158,000 in 2018. Deaths of despair are ‘suicide in slow motion.’
What can be done about the mental health pandemic?
Firstly, we need increased awareness. This means removing all stigma around mental illness, as well as introducing education programmes. Despite progress in some countries, people with mental health conditions often experience severe human rights violations, discrimination, and stigma, according to a WHO statement. Bill Clinton wrote “Mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of, but stigma and bias shame us all.“ In the scientific article 'Mental illness-related stigma in healthcare' it summarises that "Mental illness-related stigma, including that which exists in the healthcare system and among healthcare providers, has been identified as a major barrier to access treatment and recovery, as well as poorer quality physical care for persons with mental illnesses... An organisational culture that promotes staff health and wellbeing and is committed to combatting stigma in patient care is likely to have a positive impact on staff and patient safety as well as the financial bottom line."
Glenn Close wrote "What mental health needs is more sunlight, more candour, and more unashamed conversation." The eminent psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler Ross wrote "The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen." Those people become Enlightened Witnesses. So, why are those people being burned like witches? They stopped burning witches centuries ago because witches were never real. 9 million 'witches' were executed. And not one of them was a witch! Does this sound familiar? It turns out that the only evil people were those doing the burning. Funny that. When it comes to stigma and medical institutions, remember again that "Those who judge will never understand, and those who understand will never judge." It's time to stop the witch-hunts and realise that we are all human.
Secondly, we need to take immediate action to identify, address, treat, and if possible, reverse the condition once a person is experiencing mental illness. Sadly, the waiting lists on the National Health Service for psychotherapy are over 18 months. This is true even for patients who are suicidal. I know this to be a fact through personal experience. There is a chronic global shortage of mental health resources. This is a horrifyingly atrocious situation. Mental health support needs to be immediately available to all. The WHO states that “Many mental health conditions can be effectively treated at relatively low cost, yet the gap between people needing care and those with access to care remains substantial. Effective treatment coverage remains extremely low.”
Thirdly, mental wellness checkups need to become as routine and socially acceptable as any other checkup or investigation such as blood pressure checks and COVID-19 tests. Screening tools need to be developed for easy use and access to mental health services.
Fourthly, and perhaps most importantly, we need compassionate guidance. Receiving compassion from another, which is understanding without judgement, is the fundamental universal key to unlocking healing. It is the only way that we can begin to have compassion for ourselves, which is essential to our wellbeing. This is what is missing most of all.
According to the WHO “Increased investment is required on all fronts: for mental health awareness to increase understanding and reduce stigma; for efforts to increase access to quality mental health care and effective treatments; and for research to identify new treatments and improve existing treatments for all mental disorders.“ In 2022, WHO launched the World Mental Health Report: Transforming Mental health for All. The WHO “Calls on all stakeholders to work together to deepen the value and commitment given to mental health, reshape the environments that influence mental health, and strengthen the systems that care for mental health.” Medical institutions, who should be leading on this, have so far failed to take up the gauntlet.
We are doing it all wrong. As Dr Gabor Maté wrote in his brilliant book 'The Myth of Normal' “Work pressures, multitasking, social media, news updates, multiplicities of entertainment sources - these all induce us to become lost in thoughts, frantic activities, gadgets, meaningless conversations. We are caught up in pursuits of all kinds that draw us on not because they are necessary or inspiring or uplifting, or because they enrich or add meaning to our lives, but simply because they obliterate the present.” Anxiety comes from living in the future. Depression and fear come from living in the past. Peace is only found in the present. As the therapist Shanon L Alder wrote "The true definition of mental illness is when the majority of your time is spent in the past or future, but rarely living in the realism of NOW.”
Sales of 'self-help' books climbed by 20% in 2018. This is dominated by 'celebrity gurus' and pop-psychology. People are desperate for answers. Although charismatic figures are 'reassuring' and inspirational slogans can temporarily raise one's mood, the beneficial effects of such remedies are short-lived. Nothing has really changed. Existential angst still weighs heavily upon us. All the subtitutes offered such as iPhones, fads, diets, cosmetic treatments, positive mantras, etc., all point to our missing out on something more substantial. They are ways of avoiding feelings of emptiness that would otherwise overwhelm us. When we ask big questions, we want answers that have credible rationales. Human questions demand human answers. This is the role of the Enlightened Witness.
Suicide
Suicide is the fourth leading cause of death among 15-29-year-olds. The risk of suicide is highest among people aged between 45 and 54 in the UK. Males are almost three times more likely to die than women. There were over 5,200 suicides in England last year, more than 300 more than the year before. Suicide is the biggest cause of death in men under the age of 50 and around three quarters of deaths from suicides each year are men. On top of this, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the highest rates of suicide in men have been in mixed and white ethnic groups. The Samaritans answer a call for help every 10 seconds, and tragically, around every 90 minutes someone dies from suicide in the UK alone: Worldwide, it's every 40 seconds. According to the WHO one million people die each year from suicide worldwide. For every suicide there are many more people who attempt suicide. And many more who are debilitated by their lack of mental health support. A prior suicide attempt is an important risk factor for suicide in the general population. Every suicide is a tragedy that affects families, communities and entire countries and has life-long repercussions on the people left behind, sometimes affecting several generations.
While the link between suicide and mental illness (in particular depression) and a previous suicide attempt is well established in high-income countries, many suicides happen impulsively in moments of crisis with a breakdown in the ability to deal with life stresses, such as financial problems, relationship break-up or chronic pain and illness.
In addition, experiencing conflict, disaster, violence, abuse, or loss and a sense of isolation are strongly associated with suicidal behaviour. Suicide rates are also high amongst vulnerable groups who experience discrimination, such as refugees and migrants; indigenous peoples; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex (LGBTI) persons; and prisoners.
Stigma, particularly surrounding mental illness and suicide, means many people thinking of taking their own life or who have attempted suicide are not seeking help and are therefore not getting the help they need. The prevention of suicide has not been adequately addressed due to a lack of awareness of suicide as a major public health problem and the taboo in many societies to openly discuss it. To date, only a few countries have included suicide prevention among their health priorities and only 38 countries report having a national suicide prevention strategy at all.
Raising community awareness and breaking down the taboo is important for countries to make progress in preventing suicide. The WHO recognises suicide as a public health priority.
My two suicide attempts almost four years ago were thankfully unsuccessful. Why was I brought to my knees by mental illness, and so close to death? As Albert Einstein wrote "God doesn't play dice." I believe that I was brought to my knees so that I would pray. I was brought close to death so that I could go through a psychological and 'spiritual rebirth'. Confronting the fear of death, our deepest fear, is an integral part of any spiritual journey. It is as important now for spiritual seekers meditating in their living rooms, as it was thousands of years ago when initiates prayed in the temples of their favourite deities. The most powerful coaching, even for top executives, is 'Deep Coaching' or Transformative Life Coaching (TLC): Without such a shift in perception from the ego to our true Self or soul we end up living small and safe, making decisions with our ego minds rather than our souls. This limits our possibility for life, being held back by primal fear and false beliefs.
To live the spiritual life (I don't mean religion, which is very different to spirituality), we must learn how to 'die and be reborn'. The 'dark night of the soul' is when we take the deep plunge and come to terms with the buried aspects of us that crave death, both from our current life, our childhood trauma, and the past. It is only in coming to terms with these dark parts of ourselves that we can be free of the shadow of death, and truly live the lives our souls desire. In John 3 "Jesus answered, "I tell you the Truth, no one can enter the Kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to Spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, `You must be born again.'" Buddha said “Just as a candle cannot burn without fire, men cannot live without a spiritual life.” It is this new life that puts the fire inside you to fuel your dreams.
I had a greater purpose than being a plastic surgeon: My 'psychological death', and my freedom from the chains of expectation of such a dysfunctional, Dystopian society, have allowed me to embrace the purpose that I was born for: To be a peaceful defender of men, who turns pain into peace and shame into Self-love by hearing your Truth and your intuition that comes from the highest version of you, when you are able to be vulnerable, open and express your emotions through your heart. A calling rather than being driven. When you are driven, you are not in control. We need Enlightened Witnesses to guide us.
For wellbeing, be a creator not a consumer. I love to create, through my writing, to bring clarity to profound timeless philosophical Truths. Piet Mondrian, the inspired artist, wrote “Art is the path to being spiritual.”
Joseph Campbell, who described the 'Hero's Journey', wrote “We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us.” It is not until you shut and lock the door behind you that the open door ahead of you becomes apparent.
My given names Olly Alexander literally mean: 'Peaceful defender of men'. This is why I have become a Transformative Life Coach for men who are in pain, fear, and shame. I have been where you are, I have felt your despair, I have suffered your pain, and I know the way forwards. The way out is through. The way in is the key to everything you ever dreamed of. Martin Luther King, Jr, wrote “Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men.” Let me be your guide. Find the power of your VOICE.
I find Psalm 23 so beautiful and powerful and I read it whenever I am in fear or in darkness:
Psalm 23:1–6
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
My experience
In addition to the above, I would say that when one has a nervous breakdown, there is no ‘guide’ as to what to do next, when one has no hope at all. I was very fortunate that my family contacted my General Practitioner, a psychologist, and a psychiatrist. This led me to having a host of treatments and therapies, as well as coaching, mentoring, and discovering the transformative path to mental health recovery. Psychiatry numbed my pain enough to get through each day. Psychology unravelled me and made my subconscious childhood trauma conscious. Coaching saved my life, or rather I saved my life through Transformative Life Coaching (TLC). To me, it was essential. All these modalities were essential to my recovery. Having a guide was indispensable. My coach and I have now parted company as he felt that I needed to leap into the void to learn how to fly. And I have.
The difference between therapy and coaching
For clarity I have outlined the main differences between therapy and Transformative Life Coaching (TLC) in the table below. The crossover is in that both disciplines include elements of positive psychology. This is a big crossover, using the same metaphors for healing and recovering your true Self:
Therapy/ Counselling | Transformative Life Coaching |
Focussed on the past | Focussed on the present and future |
Usually open-ended duration | Normally for fixed duration |
Clients come with problems, usually of an emotional nature. Aim is to reduce emotional pain | Clients come with both positive and negative issues. Result is to create deep character shifts |
Less goal focussed | Goal/solution focussed and action oriented |
Therapist listens and prompts | Coach listens, facilitates, and clarifies |
Psychoanalysis relates to every kind of psychological therapy. This includes psychodynamic therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), rational emotive behavioural therapy (REBT), and eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR), as well as many more.
Each form of therapy is like a tool used to rebuild you - with its purpose but also with side-effects - like a hammer hitting your thumb. Sometimes a combination of tools (different therapies) is required to heal you. Sometimes other metaphors for Truth and forms of support are needed, like yoga in the treatment of trauma (as recommended in the brilliant book, and 'Bible of trauma', ‘The Body Keeps the Score’ by the leading expert Bessel van der Kolk. Sometimes a view of the whole toolbox, but also a view on what limitations the toolbox has, how the repairs/foundations are proceeding, and how well the building being erected is evolving are all required. This is the domain of Transformative Life Coaching (TLC). Faith is seeing the gleaming tower even before it is built. The TLC coach can see your path in a way that the therapist can't, unless they have had TLC training, as they are too close in and unaware of the 'blind-spots' in their tools.
William Shakespeare wrote in Macbeth “Canst thou not minister to a mind diseased, Pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow, Raze out the written troubles of the brain”. Rooted sorrows are impediments to growth and healing. They make us anxious and depressed and may cause Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). They redefine us according to our limitations rather than our potential and possibility. Today it is assumed that most psychological problems have their ultimate provenance in historical events. This is even more true in PTSD. "If it’s hysterical it’s historical" as many psychotherapists say. PTSD leads to flashbacks and nightmares: Those affected avoid situations that remind them of the traumatic experience. Distressing memories become a fixed feature of who we are. We can’t travel back in time. But we can accommodate it and achieve closure. What underlies psychological adjustment? We are all exposed to inevitable turbulences in life. Talking about negative life events in a safe environment is associated with long term psychological adjustment. Suppression provides only temporary relief of your emotional pain.
According to the above WHO definition of mental health (as opposed to mental illness, which lies in the disciplines of psychiatry and psychology) mental health is a “State of wellbeing in which the individual realises his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.” There is much overlap here with TLC. This is why my guide was critical to my recovery: He was very much a 'survival guide'. He was an Enlightened Witness who truly understood my path. I feel strongly that it’s not just enough to have a therapist anymore. We all also need an accountability partner. Someone to speak with regularly. Someone with compassion, love and understanding. It is so important to be listened to, as we have all the answers inside of us, but we need to verbalise them to someone else who does not judge us in order to hear them ourselves. Let me be your guide back to wellbeing in addition to your medical support. We all need an Enlightened Witness on the path of recovering our true Selves. I have met some brilliant holistic psychiatrists, usually those who have walked the path themsleves. But I have also met some who have zero wisdom about what it means to truly heal your soul, who have clearly never read Carl Jung. They unravel you, don't heal you, and may cause more damage than they heal. I saved my Self, and I did it through TLC coaching. Only you can truly save your Self.
As Elizabeth Gilbert said “Do you have the courage to bring forth the treasures that are hidden within you?” Friedrich Nietzsche believed that embracing difficulty is essential for a fulfilling life, considered the journey of Self-discovery one of the greatest and most fertile existential challenges. He wrote "Any human being who does not wish to be part of the masses need only stop making things easy for himself. Let him follow his conscience, which calls out to him: “Be yourself!" Every young soul hears this call by day and by night and shudders with excitement at the premonition of that degree of happiness which eternities have prepared for those who will give thought to their true liberation. There is no way to help any soul attain this happiness, however, so long as it remains shackled with the chains of opinion and fear. And how hopeless and meaningless life can become without such a liberation! There is no drearier, sorrier creature in Nature than the man who has evaded his own genius and who squints now towards the right, now towards the left, now backwards, now in any direction whatever... No one can build you the bridge on which you, and only you, must cross the river of life. There may be countless trails and bridges and demigods who would gladly carry you across; but only at the price of pawning and forgoing yourself. There is one path in the world that none can walk but you. Where does it lead? Don’t ask, walk!... Let the young soul survey its own life with a view of the following question: “What have you truly loved thus far? What has ever uplifted your soul, what has dominated and delighted it at the same time?” Assemble these revered objects in a row before you and perhaps they will reveal a law by their Nature and their order: The fundamental law of your very Self. Compare these objects, see how they complement, enlarge, outdo, transfigure one another; how they form a ladder on whose steps you have been climbing up to yourself so far; for your true Self does not lie buried deep within you, but rather rises immeasurably high above you, or at least above what you commonly take to be your 'I'... Even the most courageous among us only rarely has the courage to face what he already knows."
Carl Jung, the star in the pantheon of psychiatry said “Only what is really oneself has the power to heal.” In 'C.G. Jung Letters' he wrote "Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Without, everything seems discordant; only within does it coalesce into unity. Who looks outside dreams; who looks inside awakes." Jung said "I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become." Jesus had already said in Luke 4:23 "Physician, heal thyself." This is a biblical proverb meaning that people should take care of their own defects and not focus on correcting the projected faults of others. It is also the idea that you cannot fill the cup of others unless your cup is full, too.
The compassion of possibility is when I look at even the most fearful person, I see them without judgement as the full human being that they are and that can be manifested. I am aware of that possibility. This is the level of compassion that we aim for in Transformative Life Coaching (TLC). I see and speak to the highest version of you and it brings it to life for you, free of ego. Compassion is the only thing we can actually give anyone. To be seen by another without judgement is the first step to you having Self-compassion, Self-worth and Self-love. Buddha said "You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire Universe, deserve your love and affection." That is not vanity, that is wellbeing. Love, according to Albert Einstein) is the most powerful force in the Universe. Seneca, the Stoic Philosopher, said “Love in its essence is spiritual fire.” Always remember, as Max Lucado wrote, that "You are valuable just because you exist. Not because of what you do or what you have done, but simply because you are."
Compassion is the antidote to shame, which so many of us carry. Dr Gabor Maté wrote "Whereas individual people can become dislocated by misfortunes in any society, only a free-market society produces mass dislocation as part of its normal functioning, even during periods of prosperity... When people start to lose a sense of meaning and get disconnected, that's where disease comes from, that's where breakdown in our health - mental, physical, social health - occurs, the psychiatrist and neuroscientist Bruce Perry told me. If a gene or virus were found that caused the same impacts on the population's wellbeing as disconnection does, news of it would bellow from front-page headlines. Because it transpires on so many levels and so pervasively, we almost take it for granted; it is the water we swim in... Is it possible nevertheless that our consumer culture does make good on its promises, or could do so? Might these, if fulfilled, lead to a more satisfying life? When I put the question to renowned psychologist Tim Krasser, Professor emeritus of psychology at Knox College, his response was unequivocal. "Research consistently shows," he told me, "That the more people value materialistic aspirations as goals, the lower their happiness and life satisfaction and the fewer pleasant emotions they experience day to day. Depression, anxiety, and substance abuse also tend to be higher among people who value the aims encouraged by consumer society... As materialism promises satisfaction but, instead, yields hollow dissatisfaction, it creates more craving. This massive and self-perpetuating addictive spiral is one of the mechanisms by which consumer society preserves itself by exploiting the very insecurities it generates.""
Consumerism is insatiable. It's an addiction. Just look at all the people wandering around shops at the weekend, like it's a pastime, regardless of their income, when the woods, parks, and forests are empty. Try taking an ipad off your toddler and see their reaction - we become addicted to consumerism from early childhood. Denis Waitly wrote “Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, Grace, and gratitude.” This is what I would call bliss and joy.
Dr Gabor Maté calls on us to get real “In many other spheres, including social media, we too often present an artificial, “Botoxed” version of ourselves: an image not of who we are but of how we would like to be perceived by others. “What we have with the internet is sort of a Botox for the masses,” Peter said. “We have just lost this capacity to be real, which is fundamentally what makes us human, and what makes us feel connected to each other.” Authenticity is key to health. This is why so many of our celebrities are dying: They have a crisis of authenticity. The fracture of their psyche causes their mental illness. They are an extreme example of how everyone is becoming right now. People don't think that they will be loved for who they are. Dr Maté continues "The onset of inauthenticity may not be a choice, but with awareness and Self-compassion, authenticity can be.”
Psychologist Lauren Fogel Mersy wrote “Being able to be your true Self is one of the strongest components of good mental health.” It's a rarity in today's world. Paulo Coelho wrote "All stress, anxiety, depression, is caused when we ignore who we are, and start living to please others.” Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, the psychiatrist who described the five stages of grief, wrote “It is not the end of the physical body that should worry us. Rather, our concern must be to live while we're alive - to release our inner Selves from the spiritual death that comes with living behind a facade designed to conform to external definitions of who and what we are.” Julian Seifter adds "You are not your illness. You have an individual story to tell. You have a name, a history, a personality. Staying your Self is part of the battle." You have the Power of your VOICE. Do not feel judged by those who are asleep. Neville Goddard wrote "All the honours of men in a state of sleep are as nothing."
Dr Gabor Maté wrote "Unless we can measure something, science won’t concede it exists, which is why science refuses to deal with such “non-things” as the emotions, the mind, the soul, or the Spirit." In order to heal, we need to express our emotions, drop out of our negative thinking mind and into our open hearts, and connect with and become one with our soul, Higher Power, or true Self (these are all the same thing). As Pierre Teilhard de Chardin wrote "We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience." I have found that this always leads me out of fear, even where medication and therapy have failed. Many psychologists including Dr Gabor Maté feel that spiritual dis-ease underlies much of our mental illness.
The 18th century German philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who influenced the Age of Enlightenment, argued that a proper education is one that does not include constructs and institutions created by humans for the purpose of controlling other humans. A proper education is one that allows Nature to teach humans according to their nature. His philosophy contributed to the French Revolution, overthrowing man-made institutions hiding under the guise of civil society. His most famous statement was that "Man is born free and everywhere he is in chains.” He also said that "What wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness?.. No man has any natural authority over his fellow men... Man is naturally good, and that it is from these institutions alone that men become wicked.” Civilisation, then, is not so civilised. Similarly to Carl Jung, Rousseau said that human beings have the unique ability to change their nature through free choice, instead of being confined to natural instincts. Who you are being is a moment-to-moment choice once you become conscious. He believed that humans are able to choose in a way that improves their condition. These improvements could be lasting, leading not only to individual, but also collective change for the better. Together with human freedom, the ability to improve makes possible the historic evolution of humanity. He said "God made me and broke the mold." This is true for every one of us. We are all unique and our worth is not conditional on anything. He also said "I prefer being a man with paradoxes than a man with prejudices." Prejudices are harmful judgements and are not based on reason.
My psychiatrist told me that Nature knows what it is doing and to trust the process. Dr Maté echoes “There arises the possibility of returning to what Nature has always intended for us: Once we resolve to see clearly how things are, the process of healing - a word that, at its root, means “returning to wholeness” - can begin.” This is a remembering of who we are and integrating our inner child and our Higher Self to become whole.
Faith and spirituality are disciplines of healing that use the same metaphors as psychology and philosophy to explain how one heals a fractured psyche. The first recorded instance of Jesus, a human being who was one of the greatest philosophers of all time who always lived and made choices from his higher Self from BEing love, saying, “Your Faith has made you well” is found in Matthew 9:22. Some versions of the Bible translate Jesus’ words as “Thy Faith hath made thee whole,” and, “Your Faith has healed you.” To me this is a metaphor for authenticity and integration of your inner child with your Higher Self. This shows how the various disciplines of positive psychology, philosophy, spiritually and Faith are different ways of describing the same Truth. Transformative Life Coaching (TLC) is a blend of all these disciplines, which are all so effective in finding peace and wellbeing, because they are actually all based on the same Truth. The Venn diagram of these disciplines mostly involves the overlap: Which is the moment-to-moment choice of living from a place of love: A place of authentic wholeness and integrity.
Ram Dass the Harvard psychiatrist said that "Pain is the (ego) mind. It's the thoughts of the mind. Then I get rid of the thoughts, and I get in my witness, which is down in my spiritual heart. The witness that witnesses BEing. Then those particular thoughts that are painful - love them. I love them to death!” I too have found this to be such deep Truth. The key to joy, peace, and love are to never leave the seat of your soul.
Deepak Chopra wrote "The world sometimes feels like an insane asylum. You can decide whether you want to be an inmate or pick up your visitor's badge. You can be in the world but not engage in the melodrama of it; you can become a spiritual being having a human experience thoroughly and fully." Marianne Williamson, the presidential candidate wrote “The spiritual path – is simply the journey of living our lives. Everyone is on a spiritual path; most people just don't know it... To trust in the force that moves the Universe is Faith. Faith isn't blind, it's visionary.” In my own experience the people who are the most successful in recovery are those who walk the spiritual path, without fail.
So, TLC brings together elements of traditional coaching, positive psychology, philosophy (including Stoicism and Existential Philosophy), wellbeing approaches, spirituality, and other timeless Truths to form a unique blend that allows you to step out of your fears and into infinite possibility for every area of your life.
TLC uniquely creates and holds the space for you to see your Self afresh, with clarity, and step into new limitless ways of BEing, which will transform how you intuitively create your world. My work is to guide you to raise your own conscious awareness to the level that you want to achieve, without the fears that are holding you back.
Deepak Chopra wrote “Enlightened leadership is spiritual if we understand spirituality not as some kind of religious dogma or ideology but as the domain of awareness where we experience values like Truth, goodness, beauty, love and compassion, and also intuition, creativity, insight and focused attention.” Amen to those.
Dr Edward Bach wrote "Disease is, in essence, the result of conflict between soul and mind (ego), and will never be eradicated except by spiritual and mental effort." We are all working towards our own mental health. Lack of unconditional love causes most mental and emotional illnesses. It’s not by chance that the word evolve contains the word love in it. The mind is the dwelling place of ego, and the heart is the dwelling place of the soul. You can feel it can't you?
Embarking on a spiritual journey entails stepping into the labyrinth of Self-discovery and consciousness. On this path, the wisdom of revered Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung can serve as a beacon of light. From understanding your unconscious, embracing your authentic Self, and acknowledging your relationship with the infinite, these words of wisdom from the legend that is Carl Jung will provide invaluable insights to guide your spiritual journey: "Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life, and you will call it fate... The world is changing, and I’m on the transition team. Awaken and shine your light for others to follow. The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are... The decisive question for man is: Is he related to something infinite or not?.. The sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being... People will do anything, no matter how absurd, in order to avoid facing their own souls. One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious... There is no coming to consciousness without pain." When asked if he believed in the existence of God, Carl Jung replied "I don't believe, I know." Yes, he was one of the leading psychiatrists of all time. The point of life is to create who and what you are, and then to experience that. Then Nature heals, you receive the Grace of God, and, as Amy Winehouse sang in her album 'Back to Black', "Tears dry on their own."
I am here. I see you. I hear you. There is nothing to fear, and nothing to be ashamed of. I have total compassion for you. I will never judge you. I will see the highest version of you until you see it for your Self. Let me be your guide.
Please let me know if you would like to join our 'VOICE for men' group: 'Vulnerability & Openness Is a Choice Ensemble', where you can find your strength, courage, and authenticity, by dropping your egocentric fears and instead communicate openly with vulnerability. We are co-creating this space. It will change your life. It will empower you. This community is a safe space for men to connect and discuss philosophy, spirituality, positive psychology, awakening to Self-realisation, wisdom and timeless Truths, to share our experience, strength and hope, and to find solutions to our pain and fears. Our meeting is free to join. There is no script, just sharing. Click here to read my article on 'VOICE for men' to find out more:
Email me: hello@transformativelifecoach.co.uk
Olly Alexander Branford MD, MBBS, MA(Cantab), PhD
My gift is to be your guide. Let me know if you would like to continue this conversation...
Email me: hello@transformativelifecoach.co.uk
“Transformative life coaching uniquely creates and holds the space for you to see your self afresh, with clarity, and step into new ways of BEing, which will transform how you perceive and intuitively create your world. My work is to guide you to raise your own conscious awareness to the level that you want to achieve.” Olly Alexander Branford
My coaching themes and services - I work 1:1 and in groups with men who are looking for: Transformative Life Coaching, Transformational Coaching, Life Coaching, Personal Coaching, Positive Psychology Coaching, Recovery Coaching, Trauma Informed Coaching, Work Addiction Coaching, Workaholism Coaching, Addiction Coaching, Mindfulness Coaching.
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Hello,
I am very pleased to meet you. Thank you for reading this far. I very much look forward to connecting with the highest version of you, to seeing your highest possibility, and to our conversations. Please do contact me via my website for a free connection call and a free experience of coaching. I am here to serve you.
See you soon,
Olly Alexander Branford MD, MBBS, MA(Cantab), PhD
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I have a Bachelor's degree in Natural Sciences from Trinity College, Cambridge; a Master's Degree in Philosophy from Trinity College, Cambridge; a PhD Doctorate in Scientific Research from University College London (UCL); a Medical Degree (MD/MBBS) from The Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, London and have been a doctor and reconstructive trauma and cancer surgeon in London for 20 years. I have published over 50 peer reviewed scientific journal articles, have been an associate editor and frequent scientific faculty member, and am the author of several scientific books. I have been awarded my Diploma in Transformative Life Coaching in London, which has International Coaching Federation (ICF) Accreditation, as well as the UK Association for Coaching (AC), and the European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC). I have been on my own transformative journey full time for four years and I am ready to be your guide to you finding out who you really are and how the world works.