Island Minds by Hannah Brewer

Island Minds

by Hannah Brewer

Introduce yourself.

My name is Hannah and I am one half of The Island Minds team! We are passionate about calling out stigma in context to mental health. We both have lived experience and believe that by combining our experience and passion (and the fact we like to talk) can be used in the ongoing fight against stigma and misinformation which ultimately provides a dangerous and often life threatening barrier to individuals accessing help.

"Having lived experienced of poor mental health and seeing first hand the danger of stigma we believe speaking out and normalizing conversation is vitally important"

- Hannah Brewer

Share an experience that has shaped who you are today.

Both myself and my co-host live with mental ill-health. I was diagnosed with OCD and an anxiety disorder at the age of 14 (now aged 30) I also have regular bouts of depressive episodes. We have both faced stigma in both personal and professional environments which has led to the breakdown of relationships and unfair treatment within the work place. We have had both good and bad experiences when it comes to openly talking about our mental health and believe that stigma is perpetuated by stereotypes, a lack of general understanding and a lack of education in mental health. My co-host works with in the mental health services and I am a mental health first aider.

Tell us about your podcast audience.

In each episode we talk with a guest about their lives experience with mental Ill-health. Weather they are directly experiencing it or have experience living with or working with individuals. We believe when it comes to mental health it is important to hear authentic stories from individuals willing to tell their truths (We have had topics such as: Emetaphobia, suicide, perinatal mental health, Mens mental health and more). We don’t offer unqualified advice we simply offer a platform for people to talk about their experience. We do however sign post to helpful and authorised resources after each episode.

What makes your podcast unique?

Our audience range from individuals with experience and those wishing to learn and expand their understanding of mental illness. We have regular listeners and some who join us for specific episodes due to their own experiences. Each episode my co-host and a have a catch up - their is often humour in our catch ups as we add some softness/lightheartedness to each episode. We then chat with our guests and allow them to lead where the conversation goes. There are trigger warnings and sign posts to authorised resources of help in each episode.

Hannah and Tia catch up and review 2022 after a bit of a hiatus and talk about some big changes coming to the podcast. Tia also chats about her own mental health journey and about Autism.

Please note that this episode covers the following topics: Autism, Body Dysmorphia, OCD and Anxiety.

Recommended Contacts and information (UK BASED):

Samaritans – 116 123

NHS – https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/mental-health-services/