Anna Pinkerton

I have been a therapist for 25 years. I have specialized in PTSD since 1994. Now I work with people in high pressure roles, who have broken down or are close to doing so. This can be after a one-off shocking event or a slow build up of stresses. I wrote Smile Again because I wanted there to be a simple companion to recovery from the despair that burnout, breakdown and stress creates.

I wanted to stand up and reach out to those people who often have to go underground to suffer their trauma. Their struggle with trauma or mental health is often seen as their demise rather than their struggle to overcome. I know this first hand having broken down myself in 2011. It took me over 2 years to recover. If I can help others avoid breakdown, or speed up recovery then this is my privilege. Sitting back was not an option for me.

How we treat people in difficult times especially in mental ill health is a demonstration to us all that we too may one day face a rupture in our mental health and find ourselves in this unsympathetic culture.

Having written Smile Again, I have now a methodology of how to work focused on prevention, and now work with business leaders and entrepreneurs who have a great opportunity to de-stress our workplaces. This is called Kindness Incorporated, which is all about how we can change our minds for the better, through kindness and companionship for ourselves we create uplifting corporate culture.