The idea

A commissioning framework for public health

21 March 2012

Last week I was at the Guardian Public Health Dialogue in London, discussing how the new systems for public health will affect the UK. And eating crisps, of course. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Government’s plans, in a nutshell the responsibilities for the health of the public are moving into Local […]

Why taking care of our feelings matters

15 March 2012

“Positive emotions are worth cultivating, not just as end states in themselves but also as a means to achieving psychological growth and improved well-being over time” – Barbara L. Fredrickson Broaden-and-Build Theory of Positive Emotions, 2001 According to recent psychological research, the experience of positive emotions such as joy, interest, contentment and love, not only […]

Happy 4th birthday Mindapples!

29 February 2012

Mindapples is 4 today. On 29th February 2008, I submitted the original proposal to Social Innovation Camp that led to the creation of the Mindapples campaign, and ultimately the organisation it is today. Yes, that’s right, we are a leap-year baby. The idea for Mindapples came originally from my conversations with my dear friend, Jo […]

Why having fun is good for you

16 February 2012

We all know that leisure time makes us feel good, but now scientific evidence shows that taking time out and engaging in activities you enjoy really does lead to both psychological and physical wellbeing. It’s a well-established fact that physically healthy actions such as eating well and getting enough sleep make us feel better, it […]

The best of the 2011 Mental Health Congress

30 November 2011

Today Team Mindapples are at the Mental Health Congress, running our now-famous tree pop-up and listening to a range of specialists from the mental health care and policy communities speak about the future of the sector in the UK. Here are a few of the key points that I felt were most interesting from the […]

The Future of Mindapples Web Apps?

4 October 2011

Today and tomorrow, Mindapples is very proud to be at the Future of Web Apps London conference, rubbing shoulders with some of the most interesting folks in the international tech scene. Thanks very much to Carsonified for featuring us as one of the sponsors and letting us bring our Mindapples Tree to their conference. Mindapples […]

Nudge vs. #bigsociety?

31 January 2011

Happy New Year folks, I hope you had a lovely mindapple-filled winter break. Last week I attended the launch of the Health Equalities Alliance and their inaugural debate Nudge or fudge – can a gentle push really tackle health inequalities? It was the first time I’ve had the chance to quiz members of the Cabinet […]

Mindapples in action: Brixton Market, Oct 2010

15 December 2010

In October 2010, Mindapples teamed up with NHS Lambeth and the nice people at Spacemakers and Transition Town Brixton, to install a pop-up Mindapples Tree in Brixton Village Market and talk to complete strangers about the health of their minds. We had no plan, no permission, and no idea what would happen. So, we asked […]

Happiest Helping Together

29 October 2010

“John Helliwell, emeritus professor of economics at UBC and co-director of a CIFAR panel looking into Social Interactions, Identity and Wellbeing, was at Harvard yesterday summarizing his and others’ recent research on happiness research, with special attention to the social context of well-being. He observed that the amount of data and experimentation regarding happiness research is […]

Happy World Mental “Health” Day

10 October 2010

Hello folks, and a very happy World Mental Health Day to you all! To celebrate, Mindapples have been on tour around London, beginning in Brixton on Thursday and Saturday, and culminating in installing the Mindapples Tree at CityCamp London in the Hub King Cross today. It’s been an amazing few days, stepping far out of […]