Weekly Update

Hi, I’m Matt, Principal of the Recovery & Wellbeing College.

I want to share something personal. Like many people, I’ve had my own struggles with mental health. I don’t say that for sympathy. I say it because I want people to know that mental health is something I need to think about and look after too.

We often talk about mental health as if it’s something that affects other people. Yet around one in four people experience a mental health problem in any given year. The truth is that mental health affects all of us. Some people struggle more than others, but none of us are completely immune from life’s challenges.

When times are hard, it’s easy to slip into loneliness, withdraw from life and lose hope that things can be better. But I’ve learned that even when our mental health isn’t in a great place, life can still contain moments of meaning, connection and purpose. Sometimes those moments are small, but they matter. And often, those moments begin to join together.

One of my personal mantras is that life is best shared. The joys, the excitement, but also the hard times. Life was never meant to be a smooth ride. There will always be challenges. But we don’t have to accept that life is only struggle and despair.

Life can be beautiful and difficult at the same time. When we connect with others, our perspective changes. We remember that we are more than our worries, our problems or our circumstances.

This World Mental Health Day, join us on Monday and spend time with others who, like me, believe life is best shared. Together we’ll explore wellbeing tools, recovery, hope and connection, and discover ways to look after ourselves and each other.

I look forward to seeing you there

Matt 

World Mental Health Day 2026