Alastair Campbell to Speak at Global Stress Summit next week
Alastair Campbell, formerly director of communications and strategy to Tony Blair, and a writer, speaker and campaigner on mental health, is joining the line-up of speakers at ISMA’s Global Stress and Wellbeing Summit from 2nd-6th November.
Since his time as a government adviser, Alastair has become increasingly involved with mental health charities, sharing his own experiences with depression, psychosis and addiction. He has won praise from mental health charities and campaign groups for helping to break down the taboo surrounding mental health. He is a former Mind Champion of the Year, an ambassador for the Time to Change campaign to raise awareness about mental illness, an ambassador for Alcohol Concern, and patron of the Maytree Respite Centre, the only sanctuary for the suicidal in the UK.
On speaking at the ISMA Summit, Alastair commented, ‘Depression has been an on-off part of my life for longer than I like to remember. Though I have a great life, the depression goes down very much on the not-so-great side of the ledger. I am far from being alone in suffering with this disability and it has made me determined to share with others what I have experienced, in the hope that there may be learnings and insights that will help them live their lives more positively and with greater confidence in a better future.
I am delighted to be able to support the International Stress Management Association and take part in their online Stress and Wellbeing Summit. I am sure it will play its part in changing mindsets and perceptions and so help those combating mental health conditions to live a better life.’
During his interview with Geoff McDonald, Co-founder of Minds@Work, Alastair will also talk about his views on how the Covid crisis is likely to affect the mental health of the nation, and about how we can help those who are becoming anxious and depressed to get through difficult times. He will say that stress and mental health are issues whose time has come: the World Health Organisation has classified stress as the ‘health epidemic of the twenty-first century’ and, in the UK, the Royal College of Psychiatrists has warned that mental illness will be the ‘second pandemic’ of Covid-19.
Carole Spiers, chair of ISMAUK commented, ‘Ending the stigma associated with stress and mental health and promoting wellbeing in the workplace are major goals for ISMA. We’re delighted that Alastair will be joining us at the Summit to help raise the profile of stress and mental health issues in these challenging times, so that more people have access to guidance and advice instead of suffering in isolation’.
ISMA (the International Stress Management Association) is the leading professional body for workplace and personal stress management, wellbeing, and performance. The Global Stress and Wellbeing Summit is the highlight of International Stress Awareness Week, with over 60 speakers providing insights and guidance on stress, mental health and wellbeing in the Covid-19 era.
