Stigma

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxM3W5uaVok

We love this band, love this performance and love the label. Well done Emmanuel Deburetel

Christine and the Queens - Tilted / I Feel For You - Later... with Jools Holland - BBC Two See more at http://www.bbc.co.uk/later Christine and the Queens performs Tilted / I Feel For You on Later... with Jools Holland, BBC Two (26 April 2016)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTIZ_aizzyk&list=PLX1J4WGEelw6DEmknGfLUR4x6CcmaggDh

Stigma and Mental Illness This innovative video is a joint project of the IWK Health Centre and the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC). It was designed to help combat the stigm...

Hey Everybody. It’s been a while.

What a year 2016 has been. The political turmoil in the UK and the rest of world - strange times. On top of this the sad deaths of some of the most brilliant, creative and talented people within the world of music, entertainment and sport - many of whom have been a great influence on my own life.

I went to see Stevie Wonder on Sunday as he played one of the most influential albums, certainly on my life, in it’s entirety. “Songs In The Key Of Life” – on stage for 4 hours. What was poignant for me (apart from the show and Stevie being quite brilliant) and what I heard many times on Sunday were the words “I had to see him before he dies”. Quite a statement – but true. Indeed Corrine Bailey Rae, who was on the bill, quite rightly said we were lucky to be there as there are only 5 greats left now and Stevie was one of those. I’d be really interested to know who the other 4 are. Share your thoughts on our page.

I wasn’t sure whether I would write this piece or, if I did start it, whether I would finish it. Talking about a personal and special moment shared with someone (whomever that person may be) is something that I seldom do and if so normally only with a select few. So writing this, with a view to share online, feels somewhat alien to me. However having seen Stevie and just now having watched an Italian film called ‘Great Beauty’ I changed my mind. The film itself is mesmerising, weird, beautiful, complex, colourful and quite brilliant. It immediately reminded me of a person whom I met on a couple of occasions last summer and the meetings that we had. I was motivated to finish writing this piece and what only a handful of people knew before – although I never divulged any specifics to anyone - is now out there.

I learnt that David Bowie had died from a phone call from a friend of mine at 6.39 am, the morning of the 10th January this year - the morning he died. The call woke me up and the voice on the other end of the line simply said, “He’s dead.” It took me a while to actually take on board what this person was talking about as I was still half asleep, but when I realized who it was on the phone I knew straight away who he was referring to. You see David Bowie had become a huge part of both our lives in the months leading up to his death.

Almost a year to the day I was sitting in the house of this friend of mine, a retired music agent, who lives amongst the gated community of north London, consuming rather a lot of ‘Chateauneuf-du-Pape Le Vieux Gres’. I remember the name well as my friend kept going on about how he had got a couple of cases of the wine at a heavily discounted price. I was feeling a little at a loss, at that time, as to what to do with our organization, Stigma and the wonderful opportunity afforded to us by AEG Live and the O2. As well as wanting to put on a concert I wanted to get our message, re the stigma surrounding mental illness, out there in the biggest and boldest way possible, especially as mental health was and is a topic that was now gaining a lot of traction amongst the people that matter. My friend was helping me garner my thoughts on the matter. As the alcohol flowed and we were on our third bottle (neither of us being the strongest of drinkers) he casually said to me, “Adjei, I’m going to get you Bowie.” I never balked. I hadn’t thought about him. All I could distinctly remember was recalling the great quote from the writer Benjamin Franklin “In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is Freedom, in water there is bacteria.” Quality!

Some months after that conversation, I got off the tube in central London on a beautiful but somewhat chilly spring day, and checked my voicemail. My friend had called me and left a message. “We’re on. He wants to meet you. I’ll call you later.” No names, no times, just those 11 words. I knew exactly who it was and what he was talking about. He’s an odd fellow my friend, which is why we are friends. “David fu***ng Bowie” I remember saying aloud in the middle of the street.

David Bowie had been out of most people’s consciousness for many years up until 2013 when he released his first album in 10 years. Obviously the hoo-hah that it created at the time had been not been unexpected for someone who had been a global icon whilst still alive. One of the truly great artists and one of the few who cleverly walked that line between the picture that people want to see and the one he wanted to give them. Enough has been written in the weeks and months since his death for most of us fans to feel we knew him intimately, so I’m not going down the road of regurgitation, but you see I did share a couple of intimate moments with Mr Bowie in 2015 and in view of what has happened since I consider myself lucky.

I had met Bowie many years before under very dubious circumstances (another story for another day!) but I was amongst a group of people so to me that didn’t count. I met him twice last summer. The first time we met was I recall feeling extremely nervous. Not meaning to sound arrogant but I was nervous, not because I was meeting Bowie but nervous because I was desperate for this iconic British artist to play at our concert. This meet was already a fantastic start. The nerves and the excitement were palpable. Palpable for days. I was meeting one of my childhood musical heroes and to have the possibility of Bowie playing for Stigma was like “Whoa Dude!!”

I walked in and immediately he immediately made me feel at ease by offering his hand as a way of greeting. He looked great. 68. Wow. Slim, in great shape, a lot smaller than I actually imagined he would be, my height or a just little taller. He immediately made me feel at ease. “Hi I’m David.” David??!! David??!! One of the most recognizable faces on the planet and yet he still introduces himself by his name. How fu***ng cool. Class, pure class. His voice hadn’t changed. There was still that London familiarity and that wonderful smile. Man what a dude. No airs no graces just that immediate feeling of someone very down to earth. I had heard the rumours. Throat cancer I was told many years ago, but not a sign of it. Man how looks can be deceiving.

Once all the formalities had been made and we both were sipping on our herbal tea, he simply asked me to tell him about Stigma. So I did. I started by telling him my story. He listened intently and occasionally stopped me to ask a question. I’ve told that story quite a few times over the past couple of years but telling it in this scenario was somehow surreal.

Our conversation was very personal and we shared a moment that I will never forget. I opened up to him and he opened up to me, as we talked about our families and the impact they have had on our lives. We talked about his relationship with his brother (who was diagnosed with schizophrenia – even though he personally felt that this was a wrong diagnosis – something I share with him with regards to my brother). He told to me about the impact his brother had on him and how he was an inspiration and opened his eyes to the world at large. We talked about his post death relationship with his brother. He treated his brother as a hero in death which he felt was both positive and negative – creatively positive but personally negative. He thought about his brother all the time. We both had that in common. We both had families which were let’s say ‘different’ and we bonded on that level. He was extremely complementary and kind with his words, articulate and insightful, sensitive towards me and my feelings as well as with his own feelings. He spoke with intelligence and calmness and a great dignity that made you hang on his every word.

He truly was one of the greats and someone whose weird, colourful, complex, beautiful and quite brilliant life and creativity will be very very sorely missed.


Check out our new website (www.stigmaglobal.com) – mobile version coming soon.

Stigma Global © 2016 All rights reserved

Stigma Global

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/35914723/the-lad-bible-sorry-for-wentworth-miller-meme-as-star-reveals-depression

The Lad Bible 'sorry' for Wentworth Miller meme as star reveals depression The Lad Bible has said sorry to Wentworth Miller for an internet meme making fun of his weight gain.

ProfessorGreen & BBC doc about male su***de is extremely important. If you didnt see it make sure you do, Su***de is real and we need to make sure that we understand the issues - http://bbc.in/1SW6aev

"I would never make the mistakes he has", Professor Green: Su***de and Me - BBC Three Professor Green talks to his Nanny Pat about his father.

MailOnline article - 'First aiders' for the mind helping to beat a crisis - 12 hr training programme for everyone, including parents, workers and managers to help combat the http://dailym.ai/1J5o6Oe

'First aiders' for the mind helping to beat a mental health crisis Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) teaches people how to act in an emergency situation, such as calming someone who may be experiencing a panic attack.

Here are 7 fantastic ways to meditate yourself to of
http://bit.ly/1YTVpNd - Happy monday and lets take the week one moment at a time!!!

Free meditations from Mindfulness | Mindfulness: Finding Peace in a Frantic World All of the meditations on this page are taken from our book ‘Mindfulness: Finding Peace in a Frantic World’. The book contains the complete 8 week mindfulness course developed at Oxford University. The sound files can take 10-20 seconds before they begin to play.

This spoken word performance about will really put things in perspective. http://ht.ly/VhS8X

Her mother doesn't get why she's depressed. So she explains the best way she knows how. Sabrina Benaim's “Explaining My Depression to My Mother" is pretty powerful.

East London NHS Foundation Trust have now commissioned the Open Dialogue UK treatment - Open Dialogue trearment is making significant changes to success rates in Lots of countries. http://bit.ly/1PPzo0Q

Home - Open Dialogue UK Welcome to the Open Dialogue UK website. Open Dialogue UK has been established to promote the development of the Open Dialogue approach in the UK. On this site you will be able to find out about our clinical services and a UK Open Dialogue Training Programme for NHS teams and independent practition…

Grandmaster Flash - tonight at Electric Brixton some flava to appreciate. - gonna be sick.

‘Imagine if every small decision felt like it had life or death consequences.’ are some of the profound experiences patients feel http://bit.ly/1IECkp0

Psychiatrists share the profound things their patients said about mental illness

Almost half of parents haven't talked to their children about because "its not an issue" http://ind.pn/1MU8Gjx

Half of parents 'haven't spoken to their children about mental health' Almost half of parents in England have never spoken to their children about mental health because they think it is "not something they need to discuss", a new study has revealed. This is despite the fact that one in ten young people – or three in every classroom - will experience a mental health pro…