b'Kate Ashley-Norman is an accredited Thrive consultant and Forge coach and has worked with the organisation since 2012.She hosts The Mental Health Revolution podcast and is an active campaigner for mental health change.HOW TO REALLY THRIVE- future proofingour mental wellbeingI n the UK, doctors have about 10 minutes to assesspadded out by various unhelpful and distorted belief a patient and offer effective treatment. The personsystems and cognitive styles which protect and validate suffering mentally will have many responsibilitiesus, but often do us no good. and obligations. They want a quick fix solution toTeaching people how to navigate through life safely and get back on track as soon as possible. All too oftenconfidently in the knowledge that they will cope with this will be in the form of a prescription. the adversities of life is a much more effective long term There is evidence that antidepressants can help - offeringstrategy.the sufferer a brief respite while they put measures inCreating a mental health revolution to help the place to improve their mental wellbeing. The problemworld is, indeed, a big task but there is a growing comes when they remain on these drugs for yearsbody of passionate and determined individuals and beyond this point. organisations who are joining voices and forces, The current model for mental health waits for people toexpertise and experiences to raise awareness of this break down before attempting to patch them up. Sadly,our mental wellbeing. They offer real and viable non-people are often too far down the road and too reliantinvasive, chemical free, empathetic alternatives which on prescription drugs to ever effectively recover. are hugely empowering for the individual.Many therapeutic models of care can offer a real graspIndividual teaching is a good start. Everyone has the on a persons distress, teaching them to recognise theability to learn how to truly thrive in life by learning impending signs and offering techniques and tools toabout and understanding their psychological better manage their reactions.components; how they can be changed and reinforced Teaching and empoweringfor better mental wellbeing. The rest takes action, A preventative (as opposed to reactive) approach ispatience and persistence. Through the Thrive Programme based on a teaching or coaching modelgiving thepeople can learn how to take control of their lives, individual the knowledge they need to understand wherephysically and emotionally change, grow and embrace their emotions and thoughts are coming from, why theychallenges to become the best person they possibly can feel the way they do and how to make changes atbe. sourcealmost like restoring to factory settings! Often, people who have been racked with depression Our emotional wellbeing is based on a number ofand anxiety for decades can make lifelong, common psychological components such as our belieftransformative leaps towards better mental wellbeing systems, self-esteem and confidence, various thinkingwithin just six weeks as part of their Thrive journey. styles, desire for control (there are about 26 of them inThere IS another way.total). The way in which these components drive us is a learned process. Over the years we limp through life,thriveprogramme.org25'