28 September 2017 Pureland Series
For the first talk of the autumn season the Pureland Series welcome internationally renowned actress, mental-health campaigner and best-selling author Ruby Wax on September 28th at London’s China Exchange.
Drawing on personal experience and her most recent book A Mindfulness Guide for the Frazzled, released in early 2017, Wax will discuss the impact of modern life on mental health, provide the audience with tools to deal with the stress as well as sharing her lifelong battles with anxiety and depression.
Wax’s Pureland Series talk brings an end to her critically acclaimed UK tour Frazzled, following on from a stint during the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August, and will be the last opportunity to catch her highly praised one-woman show.
Wax openly discusses her mental health struggles and counts herself amongst the one-in-four Britons who experience mental illness. She also considers herself to be in what she calls the ‘four-in-four’, members of modern society exhausted and frustrated with the increasing pressures and stresses imposed on us from all angles of life.
A prominent comedian, Wax uses her natural humour and wit to make mental health more approachable and aid in breaking down the stigmas still surrounding mental illness. Her unique approach to mental health helped to inspire her Frazzled Cafes, which accompany her latest publication. The walk-in sessions allow individuals to be frank and honest about their struggles in a safe, non-judgmental environment. They are a space in which individuals better understand Wax’s most stand-out approach to mental illness, admitting ‘it’s OK not to be OK’.
Wax will also draw on her professional interest and experience in mental health which began with Wax graduating in psychology from the University of California Berkeley and most recently she gained a master’s degree in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy from the University of Oxford. In 2015 Wax was appointed a Visiting Professor in Mental Health Nursing at the University of Surrey.
The Pureland Series at China Exchange invites inspirational speakers and like-minded people to share their visions of a world grounded in compassion, empowerment, spirituality and creativity. The series is hosted by the Pureland Foundation, supporting charitable endeavours to promote social, spiritual and emotional wellness. It also aims to enrich lives through art and music.