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Health Check: Mental health recovery stories

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A couple hiking in the Austrian mountains

2021/07/14 GMT

Mental health recovery stories

BBC World Service - Health Check, Mental health recovery stories

How to help people going through mental health crises

How a customer in a phone shop, a teacher at a college and a group called StrongMen have all supported people with mental health problems.

Claudia Hammond presents three stories where people have helped someone who’s going through mental health difficulties. 

Dale had spent his childhood playing basketball at an elite level, and when his career stalled he became depressed. A chance meeting with Mike, a customer in the mobile phone shop where Dale was working, has turned his life around. 

Poppy was going through a very tough time when she was 16, but a teacher at her college called Sophie Durant was determined to give her the chance to talk if she wanted to. Poppy is now about to start to study dance at university. 

Adam’s teenage daughter Megan knew she suffered from food allergies and was always careful with her diet. One evening five years ago, she had a take-away at a friend’s house. They warned the restaurant about her allergies, but she suffered a severe anaphylactic shock and on New Year’s Day she died. Adam has found great support from a group in the UK for men who’ve been bereaved called StrongMen. 

It’s never easy to know what to say to a friend or relative who has mental health problems without risking making things worse. Clinical psychologist Linda Blair gives tips on how to handle these conversations.

Presenter: Claudia Hammond
Producer:  Pam Rutherford

(Picture: A couple hiking in the Austrian mountains. Photo credit: Westend61/Getty Images.)

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