New audio platform Inner Truth wants to improve your mental wellbeing

After struggling with his own mental health, David Newell wants to use audio to help others 
Inner Truth
Amelia Heathman11 October 2018

With one in four people set to experience a mental health problem this year alone, it's clear to see why mental health continues to be such a prominent talking point.

It can be difficult to find a safe place to turn to when you’re struggling, or even to find the right words to describe what it is you’re actually feeling.

This is what Inner Truth set out to address. Described as 'Spotify for the Soul', Inner Truth is an audio platform that hosts podcasts and audio courses to help people care for their mental health.

Coping with psychological issues is something Inner Truth’s founder, David Newell, is no stranger to. When working as an investment banker he began to suffer from anxiety and depression - conditions which ultimately forced him out of work. “Basically, when I was 25, I was at near-suicidal levels of depression”, he tells the Standard. “I don’t mind saying that now because it’s an important point to recognise.”

He began exploring spirituality, yoga and meditation, something he kept up when he felt ready to go back to work and joined a new company. But even when he was working in a smaller business, surrounded by his friends, Newell says he was still “splitting apart inside”.

“By the time I was coming up to my 30th birthday, I felt like I couldn’t continue in this older paradigm of work,” he says. “I needed to step out and create a platform that could share soul wisdom for younger people that were going through similar crises and problems that I was.”

Newell quit the start-up with no plan. But after meeting Samantha Moyo on a wellness retreat, who had just left her start-up Morning Gloryville, the duo developed an idea which eventually became Inner Truth.

Inner Truth: how it works

Inner Truth launches today as part of World Mental Health Day. Including podcast episodes exploring the mental health journeys of such celebrities as Nick Mulvey and other well-known figures, there are also a series of audio courses centred on self-discovery.

With seven courses available so far, topics covered include transforming fear, self-care and introductions to shamanism. There is a one-time fee per course, and once the audio file has been downloaded, you can keep them on your smartphone forever.

A dedicated app is expected to follow in the next six to 12 months.

Inner Truth's David Newell hopes the platform will help others with their mental health
Inner Truth

The decision to focus on audio was a simple one for Newell. He believes we are overly simulated by screens and it is through audio that we might be able to find the space to think and reflect.

“I’ve always felt that the two most valuable things in life are our intention and attention. When you spend really close attention just listening to someone when it's audio only, it allows you to sink in quite deeply. The power of listening is not to be put aside,” he adds.

Men and mental health

Whilst Inner Truth has been created to empower everyone to connect with their mental health, Newell hopes that it will appeal to men in particular. By talking about his lowest points, he hopes that this will help to normalise the conversation and encourage other men who have struggled with mental health issues to talk about their feelings as well.

“Men, in particular, set external coordinates that we need to have this job or behave in this way or make this much money,” he says. “But then life perhaps doesn’t slide that way and you feel incredibly unhappy inwardly because it’s not what you wanted to do.

“We’re taught to cut off our feelings early on and not talk in this way.”

Of course, it’s not a simple process, and Newell knows that. He says that he buried a lot of his feelings and when he began exploring them, he felt an overwhelming sadness, almost like grief.

Yet, “once you’ve got through that initially difficult process, you become much more well-rounded, much more integrated, and happier within yourself,” he says.

Using tech to reach people

But why use tech - especially considering the negative effects it has been found to have on our mental health?

Newell argues, its appeal lies in its reach. He cites Headspace, the popular meditation app with over 31 million global users, as an example.

“The Headspace guys are killing it. Anything that helps people come inside and feel stillness is worth its weight in gold and if that requires plugging into your phone in the first place, it’s fine.”

He has big plans for Inner Truth but wants to take it step by step, for now, to see how the platform develops organically. “I hope that it changes the way British people [interact] because I know we can be quite closed off when we’re talking about things. So I hope we can have an impact.”

We say namaste to that.

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