About me

I’m Abby Lacey and I’ve suffered for anxiety for as long as I can remember. I’m not a mental health professional but I am an advocate of speaking out and breaking the stigma attached to mental health.

In 2019, I started Mental Health Mates – Reading, a peer support group organising walks and talks for people suffering from mental illness, along with their family and friends.

Since then, I have made many friends and connected with so many likeminded people, so I thought it would be great to give them a platform to tell their stories. If this podcast can help just one person then my job is done.

About 1 in 4

1 in 4 came about after my good friend, Sarah, told me about a dream she’d had where we’d started recording our own podcast. A couple of days later, I received two emails about free podcasting courses. This was enough for me (I believe things come in 3s!) and after taking a course, I embarked on sorting artwork, made my own music and played with editing.

There are loads of mental health podcasts out there; most with celebs, but not many where real people are interviewed about their mental health, coping mechanisms, support and advice.

Listen