Mental health campaigner Dr Alex George awarded honorary degree by the University of Exeter
Former A&E doctor and UK Youth Mental Health Ambassador Dr Alex George has been awarded an honorary degree by the University of Exeter in recognition of his campaign for extra psychological support for young people.
Alex, who first found fame on the TV show Love Island, began bringing the nation accessible and reassuring advice directly from the medical frontline throughout the pandemic.
He is now also a presenter, best-selling author and the co-founder of Mettle, the mental fitness app for men.
Alex, who trained as a doctor at the University of Exeter and graduated in 2015, is on a mission to improve mental health support for children and young people and has campaigned for Early Support Hubs as well as alongside the Royal Foundation with the Prince and Princess of Wales. He also has a hugely successful podcast, Stompcast, which promotes the importance of walking in nature for mental and physical wellbeing.
In a moving speech today he spoke about how the death by suicide of his brother Llŷr spurs on his campaigning work, as he wants others to “see there is always a better day”. He thanked the psychology graduates for choosing to study the subject.
Alex said he had been “moved to tears” when he received the letter offering him an honorary degree and spoke about the “incredible time” he had studying in Exeter.
“I loved my time at Exeter. there were many highs, but there were lows as well as well as many challenges through studying. But this place gave me a foundation in go on and live life in the way I wanted to.”
Alex told the audience about the lifechanging advice given to him about a fellow student who died of cancer to “live your life and fear a little less”, and how as a shy person this had given him the confidence to challenge himself.
He told the new graduates to embrace failure and celebrate victories.
“Things generally are not as great or bad as you think they might bean be. 95 per cent of the things you are probably worrying about will never happen and the following few per cent aren’t as bad as you think they are going to be. Go for it in life.
“Embrace failure. I believe failure is an absolutely inevitable part of not only life, but your journey to success. I believe success is impossible without failure.”
Alex said it was important to mark academic success but “the most important thing is the health and happiness of ourselves and the people around us.”
He also spoke about how pleased he was there was now less shame in people openly discussing their mental health, and how much this can help people build their physical and mental fitness.
Alex has published three Sunday Times Bestsellers, Live Well Every Day and The Mind Manual for adults, and A Better Day for children, which also won Book of the Year for Children’s Non-Fiction at The British Book Awards. Most recently Alex published his fourth book, A Better Day Journal: Fun and Calming Activities for Positive Mental Health in January 2024.
Alex’s TV work includes presenting his documentary for BBC One and Children in Need, Dr Alex: Our Young Mental Health Crisis as well as fronting Naked Education for Channel 4 and All4. Most recently, Alex released his first single with Decca Records at Universal Music, a spoken word track called The Dreaded Pill, in collaboration with pianist Luke Howard, with the ambition to break down stigma around mental health medication.
Professor Richard Holland, Dean of the University of Exeter Medical School, said: “We’re very proud of Alex’s success, and the way he’s used his platform to campaign on mental health, which is a huge priority for us in supporting our students, our wider community and the public. This award is extremely well deserved and I’m looking forward to working together to continuing our commitment to supporting mental health in our education, research and pastoral care.”
