Frazzled Café Online is a new, safe space for people to talk about their mental health – and it is run by comedian and mindfulness advocate Ruby Wax. Usually held in person, the charity has taken their support groups online to help anyone and everyone feeling overwhelmed, stressed or just in need of a bit of positivity when everyday life gets too much. The team are fiercely committed to making the online café a safe, non-judgmental space for people to connect and talk freely and openly about their feelings. The meetings don’t aim to solve things and are not therapy, but a place to be heard.
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Ruby Wax launched the Frazzled Cafe in 2017
Founder Ruby Wax commented: "We live in a time where everything we knew to be normal has been put on ice and, regardless of mental health history, we are all feeling it. Frazzled Café is about people coming together to share their stories, calmly sitting together, stating their case and feeling validated as a result. Feeling heard, to me, has always been half the cure."
As Ruby explains the term frazzled as when someone is feeling constant stress. "Stress is helpful to a degree, it's what gets us out of bed in the morning, but it stops being helpful when someone is stressed about being stressed and is then caught in a constant loop, which can lead to feeling overwhelmed."
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Frazzled Café meetings are usually held in small groups fortnightly in cities around the UK, hosted by a trained facilitator who makes sure that everyone who wants to speak gets the chance. These groups are now being held online via Zoom, in facilitated groups of about 12 people that mirror the usual meetings. Additionally, Ruby is hosting larger groups of up to 100 people where she shares her experiences and invites others to share theirs. Visit Frazzled Café to find out more and register.
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