Minderful’s Head of Partnerships Matthew Bushell is a former Northampton School for Boys student, British Army Veteran and graduate from the University of Northampton.

He was also diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder (type 2) in 2011.

Often nick-named ‘Jackanory’ or ‘Walter Mitty’ because of the fantastical nature of his stories, Matthew is now putting his lived experience and passion to good use by supporting the mental health and wellbeing of Northamptonshire businesses and employees.

The story of how Matthew came to work with Minderful reminds us all that there’s always hope.

The disruption and isolation of Covid really impacted Matthew’s mental health and he suffered from depression for much of the period between October 2019 and October 2021. Although he continued to achieve success at work, as each day rolled by his hope shrank and his spark for life faded. It was the compassionate conversations he had with a handful of his clients during the summer of 2021 that spurred him on to change the way he was looking after his mind. In October 2021 he resigned from his role to focus on recovery.

In January 2022 Matthew re-developed his personal wellness recover action plan and began a new journey into mental health and wellbeing. He also began to look for ways to support other people with their Mental Health at work. It was 1 month later that he learned about MInderful.

Climbing back into his car after a gym session, full of doubt and insecurity and questioning himself about the decision he had made and the new path he was on, Matthew turned on Talk Radio and heard the voice of Dr Nick Prior telling his lived experience story. Dr Nick Prior is an NHS Psychiatrist, CEO of Minderful and also a person living with a diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder. Matthew was so inspired he sent a message to Dr Prior offering him help and support. 

8 months later and almost a year after resigning from his previous role, Matthew is now happily supporting Nick and Minderful to deliver training, employee experiences, content and consultancy to businesses in support of their Mental Health and wellbeing strategies.

You can explore more about what Minderful offers here and email Matthew@minderful.com to talk about how he and the Minderful team can support your business. As Matthew knows all too well, the first step is in reaching out.