Director of Me

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Factual: Health & Wellbeing

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

A month in the life of three people with diagnosed mental health conditions who reflect on what it is like to inhabit and manage their minds.

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's like to inhabit and manage their minds. 

The programmes incorporate specially composed music, worked up in collaboration with each person to illustrate how they experience their mental health conditions.

BBC Radio 4 LW

Director of Me: Faris

Faris

BBC Radio 4 - Director of Me, Faris

Faris, who lives with PTSD, reflects on how he manages his mind.

A month in the life of three people with diagnosed mental health conditions who reflect on what it is like to inhabit and manage their minds. Today, Faris, who lives with PTSD.

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

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

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