How do you manage your mental health when you cannot control the direction of your mind?

Director of Me follows three people with diagnosed mental health conditions through a month in their lives. Each episode pivots around self-recorded audio diaries as they reflect on what it is like to inhabit and manage their minds. .

Each programme incorporates specially composed music, worked up in collaboration with each person to illustrate how they experience their mental health conditions.

In this final episode, we meet Faris, who is in his mid 30s. He’s a make-up artist, musician and cat-parent; a friend and grandson and a refugee, having come to the UK as an unaccompanied child asylum seeker. Faris lives with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), generalised anxiety disorder and depression, alongside chronic physical pain. Faris discusses the childhood trauma that has led to his condition, and how it affects him now including the suicidal thoughts he copes with.

“When I was younger I wasn't a fan of being diagnosed, I didn't like labels. But as I grew older, I understood what Post Traumatic Stress Disorder means, and a lot of it made sense; and it’s undeniable the effect it has on you.”

This episode was recorded by Faris.

Producer: Catherine Carr
Assistant Producer and Composer: Maia Miller-Lewis.
Executive Producer: Jo Rowntree

With thanks to Mind for their support.

A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4 Show less