Mental health charity's celebrity advent calendar

Sir Stephen Fry is one of the celebrities included in the mental health advent calendar

A mental health charity has launched an advent calendar which shares celebrity messages to encourage people to talk about mental health.

Spark UK, a charity launched in North Devon, has released its fifth and final advent calendar which includes celebrities such as Sir Stephen Fry, Henry Rowley and Alfie Boe.

The non-profit mental health charity was launched in 2020 by teenager Conor Warren with the aim to help young people to talk about mental health and to provide them with accessible resources.

Mr Warren said its advent calendar theme was "a message to my younger self" and it had been "an amazing journey" with the amount of celebrity support it had received.

He said: "This final year feels really special, as we reflect on how far we've come and the legacy the calendar leaves behind.

"Seeing celebrities take to their own platforms to talk about mental health is exactly what we hoped for when we started, sparking conversations everywhere."

Stephen Fry was day one of the advent calendar and said he would tell himself: "Don't be so upset - it's going to be okay."

He said: "There'll be trips along the way, but one thing I really want you to understand is that you're not alone.

"You're not alone in any of the senses in which you think you're not alone, in the wider and perhaps most important sense, everybody feels, as you do.

"Somehow the rest of humanity learned lessons about how to live and how to be and how to love and how to negotiate every day and that you were, I don't know, you were away for that lesson."

Mr Fry said it may feel like everybody else "has a secret" way of dealing with mental health but said it was "all nonsense - everybody feels that".

'Break the stigma'

Spark UK has set up Spark Schools, a digital wellness hub of educators and Spark Youth, a platform offering mental health education and support for people aged 16-25.

The charity aims to launch Sparkie & Friends - a child self-care series through storybooks and an education programme.

Mr Warren said the charity had started to "normalise mental health, especially for young people, because open conversations are what help break the stigma".

"We are immensely proud of what we've achieved so far and are excited by what the future holds for Spark UK in supporting youth mental health."