Every year, World Mental Health Day is celebrated on October 10th.
First celebrated in 1992, the day was created to raise awareness of mental health issues, share information about the support available, and reach out to people who might be struggling.
Whilst there have been vast improvements in recent years to the significance placed on corporate responsibility for mental health, there is still more to be done.
In 2023, the Mental Health Foundation reported the impact working conditions and environment can have on mental health, and equally, the significance this can have on employee performance.
Statistics show that 1 in 6 people experience mental health problems in the workplace with around 875,000 employees suffering from work-related stress, depression or anxiety every year. Of that 875,000, only 13% report feeling comfortable discussing this with their employer.
Following the pandemic and amidst the current cost of living crisis, the importance of businesses mobilising efforts in support of mental health, has never been greater.
With initiatives aimed at improving workplace mental health reporting higher productivity and lower staff turnover, and proof that investing £80 per employee promoting well-being results in a net return of around £600, the benefit of hearing from a mental health awareness speaker is indisputable.
Booking a mental health speaker can help businesses better understand how to promote positive mental health, help individuals who may be struggling and ultimately nurture a healthier and in-turn, productive workplace.
Ahead of this year’s World Mental Health Day, we’ve compiled a shortlist featuring five of our most sought-after and prominent mental health speakers available for keynote speeches or fireside chats.
Gareth Thomas
Regarded as one of the most iconic players in world rugby, Gareth Thomas’ talk on mental health is an authentic and vulnerable account of the impact mental health can have both personally and professionally.
During his career, Gareth achieved almost every accolade the game had to offer, but beyond his success on the pitch, he was struggling with his sexuality and the subsequent fear he experienced suppressing the truth.
On the verge of suicide as a result of the double life he was leading, Gareth made the decision in 2006 to come out to his teammates. Speaking on his mental health at the time, Gareth reflects, “I was emotionally drained and tired of living. I was tired of simply waking up every day. I had nothing left, no strength left at all. I’d been running and running and running, and I just couldn’t run anymore.”
Inspired by his experience, Gareth’s talks provide an un-filtered insight into overcoming feelings of fear and rejection spurred by poor mental health as well as an opportunity to understand the benefits of being honest about mental health struggles.
Penny Mallory
Penny Mallory is a former champion rally car driver, Atlantic Ocean rower and mental toughness coach.
Having endured a turbulent upbringing as a result of her mother suffering multiple mental illnesses, Penny’s lack of structure growing up led her down a path of increasingly destructive behaviour.
Hitting rock bottom, Penny took stock of her life and recognised it was time to see what she was truly capable of achieving. Thrilled by taking risks and increasingly pushing boundaries, Penny found her way to a career in rally car driving.
The mental resilience and determination Penny once harnessed as a survival technique quickly proved the foundations necessary to become an elite performer.
In today’s ever more competitive environment, Penny’s keynote talk discusses the art of psychologically-powered performance, getting comfortable being uncomfortable and why risk is essential to a successful business.
Tom Davis
Comedian and actor Tom Davis is best known for hit TV shows King Gary and Murder In Successville as well as the hugely popular podcast, Wolf and Owl with fellow comedian Romesh Ranganathan.
After years of juggling his acting and stand-up comedy career whilst simultaneously suffering from increasingly crippling anxiety, Tom’s mental health declined to a detrimental low.
Tom explains: “I stopped doing stand-up for about five or six years, questioning whether I was good enough, which wasn’t just an hour or so before the show, it would take over the whole day."
Speaking on his mental health, Tom recalls struggling with anxiety his whole life, often finding excuses not to go to events like birthdays and weddings, or even just to see his friends at the pub due to his social anxiety.
Recognising the debilitating effect his mental health was having on his life, Tom sought the professional help he needed.
Now an avid campaigner for mental health support, Tom has supported campaigns for the NHS and Every Mind Matters.
Dame Kelly Holmes
Multi-Olympic, Commonwealth and European champion Dame Kelly Holmes is one of the UK’s most sought-after athletes, respected throughout the world as a role model and inspiration.
From her time running the men’s 1500m at the army championships - to give herself a bit of competition, to her various world championship medals, Dame Kelly’s existence was interwoven with achieving at the highest levels.
Despite her achievements, she spent years of her professional career suffering with injuries and illnesses and in 2003, just before the world championships, got injured again.
Feeling her body was betraying her, she’d had enough. She recalls, “I thought: Why me? ‘I’m so committed, so dedicated, why the f**k me?’ I just looked in the mirror and hated myself. I wanted the floor to open up, I wanted to jump in that space, I wanted it to close and I didn’t want to go back out. I was in such a bad way. Then I started cutting myself.”
Cautious of any repercussions of sharing her struggles, she kept her self-harming hidden.
Now a sought-after speaker, Dame Kelly specialises in promoting mental health awareness, focusing on mental well-being in the workplace, self-belief and resilience, drawing from her own experiences of depression and her Mental Health First Aid training.
Roman Kemp
Roman Kemp is a broadcaster, DJ and podcaster recognised for his work on Capital FM, BBC’s The One Show and in recent years, as the presenter of several BBC documentaries.
In August 2020, Roman’s life changed dramatically with the sudden and unexpected death of his best friend, radio producer Joe Lyons. In 2021, seeking to better understand the mental health and suicide crisis affecting young men, Roman presented the BBC documentary Roman Kemp: Our Silent Emergency.
Seeking answers in a difficult time, the documentary explored what can be done to encourage people to seek help, what preventative action we need to be taking, and the lasting impact mental health issues and suicide can have on friends and families.
In 2023, Roman presented his second mental health documentary Roman Kemp: The Fight for Young Lives.
Having himself suffered from depression since the age of 15, Roman recalls his thinking on the importance of making the documentary, "I remember just saying, that's it I can't sit and have the platform that I have and not do anything. I wanted to show the confusion, the anger. Because that's the reality, the reality is the people that you leave behind.”
A candid and passionate speaker, Roman is motivated by personal experience to keep mental health at the forefront of the conversation.
To find out more about our mental health speakers, please enquire online, email us or pick up the phone and speak to one of our booking agents.
You can also read more about our full collection of mental health awareness speakers here.
