Ep.134' Self compassion is Key' with award winning mental health activist Miranda Arieh

I first met this week’s guest , Miranda Arieh as we both stood nervously outside BBC Radio Leeds station before we entered another round of the BBC Leeds radio “New Voices” presenter competition. I managed to make it to the final 5 but they were only taking 2 presenters, so it wasn’t meant to be. It was a great opportunity to learn more about the world of radio and presenting ⁠and whilst some may have seen it as a failure, I saw it as a great opportunity and as this is my 134th podcast interview I think it turned out ok. Miranda is now regularly heard on Radio Leeds sharing her work around mental health and I have loved following her ever since.*take a look at some of Miranda’s extensive media/radio coverage

Miranda Arieh is an award-winning mental health activist, public speaker and spiritual coach from Leeds, UK.

Following a lengthy stay in an adolescent psychiatric unit at 14 years old, Miranda learned first-hand, how cold the medical model of mental health treatment can be and set out to learn a better way to alleviate my suffering. She went on course after course, ate up books of spiritual teachers, and decided to dedicate her life to transforming my attitudes, trigger reactions and life-long patterns. Sure enough, she started to recognize that all the triggers she felt were an opportunity for spiritual growth and began to enjoy the process of learning. Of getting to know herself, befriend herself, hold herself…

Miranda felt let down by a mental health system where many patients were set up to fail. A system that is not recovery-focused; a system that puts ‘managing symptoms’ above healing. An in-built culture of ‘survive’ not ‘thrive’, awash with a river of stigma flooding through the system. So, she decided to go look from the inside.

After over a decade of finding her feet and securing roles at some of the leading mental health charities, including Mind, Community Links and Time To Change, Miranda started to be invited to share her story up and down the country at mental health conferences, awareness-raising events, on the radio and television.

Now, working as Network Mental Health Lead for the NHS BHR Primary Care Network in her hometown of Leeds, Miranda founded The HEROES (Healing, Education and Recovery of Emotional Strength) Groupwork Programme. This is an 8 week/20-hour educational therapeutic treatment programme that she has designed from scratch for patients from some of the most deprived areas in Leeds to join.  Looking to expand this service throughout the NHS in 2023 and create a movement, not just a treatment.

The foundation of all the work that Miranda does has self-compassion at the core as a ‘bridge’ to practising presence and being able to live in the present moment. Practising presence is the essence of inner peace. You may even start to realise that the present moment is, in fact, all that really exists… 

‘The most important relationship you will ever have in your life is the one you have with yourself’.

Subjects covered-

·      BBC Radio Leeds ‘New Voices’ competition connection

·      Mirandas experience of the mental health service

·      Living in your comfort zone

·      Self-care and therapy

·      Self-compassion isn’t selfish.

·      What does self-compassion really mean?- the bigger picture.

·      Working with the NHS  and implementing the HEROES programme

·      Stepping out and facing your fears

·      It’s more than ok to fail! 

www.mirandaarieh.co.uk and 

Instagram @mirandaarieh

Facebook @mirandaarieh

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