Christopher's Story
Christopher Richards, leadership consultant and founder of AtomicGrowth, shares insights on mental health, personal growth, and building resilience.
"Change your daily routine. Your current one could be reinforcing your feelings and keeping you where you are."
About Christopher:
I am a leading transformational leadership consultant and the founder of AtomicGrowth. I’ve spent the past 10 years understanding, identifying and demystifying the patterns of the mind, behaviour and identity. Now I help people embody the highest levels of performance and leadership, in all areas of life.
WHAT WAS THE MAJOR TURNING POINT IN YOUR RECOVERY MENTAL HEALTH RECOVERY
A superior in my previous career noticed I was struggling. She was empathetic and could see I was not myself. This recognition and understanding signalled a shift for me. She provided small tasks to help build my confidence and feeling that return was a turning point.
WHAT ARE SOME THINGS THAT REALLY HELPED?
- Finding small things to create small wins that reminded me of my capability. This might have been going to the gym when I really didn’t feel like it and completing tasks at work that boosted my confidence and reminded me and my team of my worth.
- Working on myself to heal wounds. This was about identifying beliefs and emotions that were holding me back and understanding where they came from in order to move on.
- Pushing myself to be sociable when I didn’t feel I wanted to. Communication and connection was a big help and seeing people almost always lifted my mood.
- Having a person to talk to that acted as a friend and allowed me to vent and feel a bit less alone.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO OTHER GUYS FIGHTING TO IMPROVE THEIR MENTAL HEALTH?
Speak about what’s going on because the longer you hold it in the worse it’s going to get. Get help and support from a professional who knows what they’re doing. See a GP or therapist.
Think about joining a hobby group such as a sports team or a men’s talking group, there are lots of these around now because there’s so much recognition that men need to talk.
Change your daily routine. Your current one could be reinforcing your feelings and keeping you where you are.
And, watch what you put into your body. Junk food, alcohol and drugs only do horrible things to your body and the effects can linger for a long time without us realising that they’re impacting our mood and our actions.
– Christopher Richards, Leadership Consultant and Founder of AtomicGrowth, London UK 
