“The shame was intense!” How Ben West coped with his brother’s suicide
Happy Place13 Tammi 2025

“The shame was intense!” How Ben West coped with his brother’s suicide

Ben West was 17 when his younger brother died by suicide. He’s since gone on to become a mental health campaigner, and has found humour can help communicate deeply traumatic messages.

In this chat with Fearne, Ben talks through what signs to look for if you’re concerned about someone’s mental health. Then, how do you break the awkward silence when you both know you need to talk about a big topic like poor mental health? You’ll be able to approach the conversation in a compassionate, rather than confronting, way.

Or, maybe you’re the one keeping big thoughts and feelings inside but have become a master of masking your truth. Fearne shares her experience of feeling defensive and telling people she’s ‘fine’ when they asked concerned questions.

Ben also takes a thorough look at the mental health system and explains the reality of what care looks like in the UK (and what he’s doing to change it for the better!)

Plus, how have people like Andrew Tate affected boys’ mental health? And why is finding the right therapist is a bit like dating...?

CONTENT WARNING: This episode is all about the reality of suicide.

If you liked this episode of Happy Place, you might also like:

Richard E. Grant

Ashley Cain


Roman Kemp

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tämä jakso on lisätty Podme-palveluun avoimen RSS-syötteen kautta eikä se ole Podmen omaa tuotantoa. Siksi jakso saattaa sisältää mainontaa.

Jaksot(464)

Book Club Meets: Fertility pressures, medical racism, and hen parties, with Candice Carty-Williams

Book Club Meets: Fertility pressures, medical racism, and hen parties, with Candice Carty-Williams

This month in the Happy Place Book Club, we’ve been reading Queenie Is Working On It, by Candice Carty-Williams. This is the much anticipated follow up to 2019’s Queenie.... and this time, Queenie Jen...

30 Heinä 43min

Sam Thompson: "My mind doesn’t switch off!" People pleasing and ADHD hyperfocus

Sam Thompson: "My mind doesn’t switch off!" People pleasing and ADHD hyperfocus

Sam Thompson has made a career out of making people laugh, but behind the pranks and infectious energy, there’s a lot of panic and overthinking.In this chat with Fearne, Sam shares how anxiety and und...

27 Heinä 58min

Sophie Ellis-Bextor: “I want my kids to be intrepid!” How to make your holiday magical

Sophie Ellis-Bextor: “I want my kids to be intrepid!” How to make your holiday magical

Sophie Ellis-Bextor is playing over 20 festivals around the world this summer. Given she travels so much for work, it’s even more important to make family holidays properly magical.Welcome to The Happ...

23 Heinä 38min

"Little Joe would’ve watched Heartstopper in secret!" Joe Locke: queer representation matters

"Little Joe would’ve watched Heartstopper in secret!" Joe Locke: queer representation matters

Joe Locke was doing his A levels on the Isle of Man when Heartstopper came out on Netflix. Two days later he had 3 million new Instagram followers.In this chat, Fearne and Joe both share their experie...

20 Heinä 48min

Fearne on the loneliness of chronic pain and why she likes breaking rules

Fearne on the loneliness of chronic pain and why she likes breaking rules

There’s probably a bit too much pressure on reaching a definitive state of happiness isn’t there? It’s just not realistic. So Fearne’s dropping into your feed every week for some honest chat about wha...

16 Heinä 12min

My work makes me a better parent! Coping with mum guilt and taking the pressure off

My work makes me a better parent! Coping with mum guilt and taking the pressure off

We’re heading into the summer holidays. Hands up if you’re already a bit anxious about any mum guilt creeping in...?Fearne definitely is, so she’s reflecting on the Happy Place episodes that explore h...

13 Heinä 47min

Overwhelmed and exhausted? Decompress with this breathwork session from Self Space

Overwhelmed and exhausted? Decompress with this breathwork session from Self Space

Is your nervous system exhausted today? Perhaps you’ve been holding everything together, holding everything inside for a little bit too long? Find somewhere quiet and comfortable, and join Jodie Caris...

9 Heinä 11min

Are you ditching your values to fit in? Todd Rose on avoiding peer pressure

Are you ditching your values to fit in? Todd Rose on avoiding peer pressure

Smoking and going to that cool gig... think you left caving to peer pressure behind at high school? Scientist and social entrepreneur Todd Rose says we’re still desperately doing our best to fit in, w...

6 Heinä 1h 19min

Suosittua kategoriassa Yhteiskunta

olipa-kerran-otsikko
seitseman
i-dont-like-mondays
siita-on-vaikea-puhua
sita
poks
antin-palautepalvelu
kaksi-aitia
hupiklubi
kolme-kaannekohtaa
mamma-mia
gogin-ja-janin-maailmanhistoria
yopuolen-tarinoita-2
aikalisa
rss-palmujen-varjoissa
ihme-ja-kumma
lahko
rss-haudattu
loukussa
meidan-pitais-puhua