Damien shares the deeply personal story behind Coffee Foundation, a Swiss-based organization using coffee to spark meaningful conversations about mental health and fight against stigma, judgment, prejudice, shame, and isolation.

• First social brand of its kind in Switzerland, having donated 15,000 Swiss francs to three suicide prevention charities
• Created the first English telephone crisis line in Switzerland for English speakers
• Vision to develop into a youth social enterprise where young people drive their own mental health narrative
• Currently operates in virtual space at coffeefoundation.com with plans for physical and expanded virtual meeting spaces
• Aims to bring positive, uplifting approach to mental health conversations rather than "more violins and tears"
• Uses bold branding and a tuxedo-wearing spokesperson to challenge Switzerland's conservative culture
• Believes in active listening as a fundamental skill many have lost in our tech-focused world

Damien O'Brien

• Tel: +41 79 777 0489
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/damien-o-596032b/
• Website: https://www.coffeefoundation.com/
• Email: hello@coffeefoundation.com

Visit coffeefoundation.com/donate to support their mission or find them on Instagram @coffeefoundation.

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• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@friendsfromwildplaces
• Website: https://friendsfromwildplaces.buzzsprout.com/
• Itunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/friends-from-wild-places/id1619076023
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/FFWP_podcast
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/friendsfromwildplacespodcast

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Damien shares his transformative journey from battling addiction and bipolar disorder to founding the Coffee Foundation, showing how embracing vulnerability became his path to purpose. His story reveals how our inner voices can either destroy or rebuild us, and why creating spaces for authentic mental health conversations saves lives.

• Finding ourselves on the other side of the world with the same internal issues
• The battle with our inner voice when it becomes destructive
• How mental health stigma and vocabulary prevents open conversation
• Young people struggling to discuss mental health when adults can't model it
• Damien's rock-bottom moment through intestinal surgery and alcohol detox
• Creating the Coffee Foundation to promote mental health conversations
• The power of vulnerability as a superpower that connects us
• Embracing our unique "craziness" as potential strength rather than weakness
• Breaking down the facades we create that prevent authentic connection

Damien O'Brien

• Tel: +41 79 777 0489
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/damien-o-596032b/
• Website: https://www.coffeefoundation.com/
• Email: hello@coffeefoundation.com

If you're struggling with mental health issues, reach out for help. As Damien discovered, sometimes our greatest challenges can become the source of our purpose when we learn to work with our inner voice rather than against it.

Join us as we support The Coffee Foundation this month!

Send us a text

Support the show

Stay Wild!

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@friendsfromwildplaces
• Website: https://friendsfromwildplaces.buzzsprout.com/
• Itunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/friends-from-wild-places/id1619076023
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/FFWP_podcast
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/friendsfromwildplacespodcast

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Damien, founder of the Mental Health Association in Switzerland, shares his powerful journey from childhood trauma to mental health advocacy, revealing how his "inner echo" helped him survive and eventually thrive despite growing up in a violent environment.

• Started the Mental Health Association to combat stigma around mental health issues in Switzerland
• Grew up in Sydney surrounded by violence, alcoholism, and his mother's undiagnosed mental illness
• Developed an "inner echo" as a protective mechanism that helped him navigate dangerous situations
• Lost his brother to addiction and was heading toward jail before meeting his wife
• Moved to Switzerland thinking he could escape his problems but discovered his undiagnosed bipolar disorder had "snuck onto the airplane"
• Created the Coffee Foundation to bring "brightness and color" to mental health conversations rather than more "tears and heartache"
• Challenges toxic masculinity by emphasizing that "reaching out for help is not a sign of weakness"
• Uses Leonard Cohen's quote "There is a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in" as his guiding philosophy

Damien O'Brien

• Tel: +41 79 777 0489
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/damien-o-596032b/
• Website: https://www.coffeefoundation.com/
• Email: hello@coffeefoundation.com

Check out www.shireensbookkeeping.com for a free consultation on virtual bookkeeping services to keep your books clean so you don't have to.

Join us as we support The Coffee Foundation this month!

Send us a text

Support the show

Stay Wild!

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@friendsfromwildplaces
• Website: https://friendsfromwildplaces.buzzsprout.com/
• Itunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/friends-from-wild-places/id1619076023
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/FFWP_podcast
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/friendsfromwildplacespodcast

Leave a review!