Radio X launches podcasts offering mental health support

Radio X has teamed up with Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) to create a series of podcasts offering mental health support.

Radio X’s Mental Health Tool Kit with CALM – exploring grief and bereavement, anxiety, depression, financial stress and ways to seek help – launched today (Monday 14th December) on Global Player and other podcast locations.

The podcasts have been voiced by well-known artists, comedians and broadcasters. Each host will explore an area of mental health, guiding listeners through the advice, support and expertise offered by CALM, with some reflecting on their own personal experiences.

Comedian and Love Island star Iain Stirling will speak about anxiety, whilst host of The Mash Report & comedian Nish Kumar will talk to listeners about financial stress.

Biffy Clyro’s Simon Neil will speak about grief and bereavement, and former elite Special Forces soldier and ‘SAS: Who Dares Wins’ instructor Jason Fox will host a podcast on the topic of depression. Podcaster, comedian and host of Sunday mornings on Radio X, Ed Gamble, will present an episode entitled ‘Your Mental Health’, speaking about how listeners might be feeling and exploring ways they can seek help from other resources available.

All five podcasts, which are under 10 minutes each, are released today, with Radio X’s Chris Moyles launching the Mental Health Tool Kit on air this morning.

Matt Deverson, Managing Editor of Radio X, said: “We are incredibly proud to launch our Mental Health Tool Kit in partnership with Campaign Against Living Miserably today.

“We know that in an extraordinarily challenging year, many listeners have turned to radio and podcasts for support, and so our aim is to amplify the conversation around mental health and to share the resources that organisations like CALM can offer with our audience. These podcasts are accessible, open and supportive, and we are very grateful to CALM and to Iain, Nish, Ed, Jason and Simon for having this very important conversation with our listeners.”

Simon Gunning, CEO of CALM, said: “It is predicted that 10 million people – almost a fifth of the population in England – will need mental health support as a direct consequence of COVID-19. This is a national issue that needs everyone’s attention.

“Our partnership with Radio X will enable us to reach more people who may need support before they reach the point of crisis, wherever they are, no matter what. And in doing so we can continue to play an important role in challenging the stigma surrounding mental health and take another step in creating long-term cultural change.”