A woman from Bala has been given a £1,000 cash prize by the Whicker’s World Foundation for her “ear-catching” and “refreshingly open” podcast about mental health

A woman from Bala has been given a £1,000 cash prize by the Whicker’s World Foundation for her “ear-catching” and “refreshingly open” podcast about mental health

Michelle Thomas’s I’m Not OK is a serialised podcast documentary which takes the listener on a journey through the world of mental health as she uncovers the common ground that unites people through our personal struggles.

The podcast, which Michelle hopes will be available in the coming months, features Aaron, who describes his severe panic attacks as “a migraine in the chest”, and Taryn who became a bodybuilder in her quest for the “perfect” figure.

Michelle said: “it was great, a great honour to have been consider for this prestigious prize, particularly after realising I went up for an audio documentary prize I wasn’t eligible for. Thankfully they invented a new category as they recognised I have a bit of talent and they want to help support my career as a broadcaster. It’s seed money really; they’ve also set up some meetings with the BBC so in the next year I should be able to make some work with them.

“My view is that the public conversation we have on mental health focuses on the breakdown and recovery, about the worst times and recovering

“Nobody’s talking about the messy days between and what to do in the meantime. Nobody talks about what it’s like being on medication for example.

“Mental Health impacts each day of your life. Your relationships for example, nobody talks about going on dates when you have a mental health disorder, when do you tell them I’m a Taurus, I like long walks in the park on and I’m on Citalopram.

“The tone is really important as the tone I hear is very earnest, dry and serious. While it’s a serious subject I wanted to make something that mimics the tone I have with friends.”

BBC Radio 4 and World Service presenter Fi Glover, who was one of the judges for the competition said: “We thought this to be really ear-catching audio detailing how episodes of poor mental health actually feel and how talking about it really helps – we felt this was a refreshingly open approach.”