Frazzled Cafe | It’s OK to not be OK!
The number one bestselling author, comedian and leading mental health campaigner Ruby Wax has joined forces with Marks & Spencer to launch Frazzled Cafes in M&S stores. ‘It’s ok not to be ok, feeling frazzled, come on in and let it out!’
Frazzled Cafes will host fortnightly ‘talk-in’ sessions where people who are feeling ‘frazzled’ can meet to talk and share their personal stories in a safe, anonymous and non-judgmental environment. 11 M&S stores will be hosting Frazzled Cafe meetings over the next few months – with three in London alongside Brighton, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Cambridge, Nottingham, Leeds, Newcastle, Canterbury and Norwich – and more locations are set to be added throughout the year.
Frazzled Café meetings
Taking place in M&S Cafés after hours and led by trained volunteer facilitators, Frazzled Cafe meetings are designed not just for the one-in-four Britons who will suffer a mental illness at some point, but for the four-in-four who are feeling frazzled and overwhelmed by the stresses of modern life.
Frazzled Cafe was successfully trialled in M&S offices and stores last year with the support of M&S as part of its Plan A eco and ethical initiative. The meetings are not therapy, their purpose is to provide a space where people can talk openly with others who understand how they are feeling – ‘a place where it’s ok, to not be ok’.
Health problems
With the economic cost of mental health problems in the UK estimated at roughly £105 billion per year1 – equal to the entire National Health budget – and the UK rated the 7th highest nation in the Western world for prescribing antidepressants (four million annually), there is a pressing need for both identifying ways to help people cope with overwhelming stress and reducing the stigma that is attached to discussing mental health. Studies have proven that one of the best ways to beat stress is to share your feelings and research has also shown that peer-support groups can yield significant improvement in psychiatric symptoms.
Non profit
Frazzled Cafe is a not for profit and soon to be registered charity created by Ruby Wax and run by Elizabeth Morrison and Anna D’Onofrio. Its name is inspired by Ruby’s number one bestselling book ‘A Mindfulness Guide for the Frazzled’.
Website: Frazzled Cafe
