You’re not alone. We see these words evvvvverrrywhere. And we see more faces in a day than our ancestors saw in their entire lifetimes, but neither of these things helps us to feel less chronically alone. We move around the city like little isolated atoms. We wake up, brush our teeth, stumble out the door, drag ourselves on the Central Line and hold our breath as someone’s sweaty armpit meets our nose. We work hard. We go to the gym. Yoga if we’re feeling it. Or the pub if we’re not. We go back home and fall into bed.
We surveyed 1000 people in the UK, and 65% said that they had felt lonely often or always in the last 6 months.
Enter Self Space Social. Our answer to the rising tide of loneliness, burnout, and big feelings, Self Space Social is a therapist-led, drop-in home for feeling better, learning new ways of being, and connecting with others doing the same.
Like a gym for the mind, it’s a physical space for developing your emotional intelligence and connecting with others doing the same. Think workshops, peer-to-peer support, creative sessions, cool brand partnerships, as well as a good cuppa, and a welcoming, nurturing space to simply rest, reset and come back to yourself.
Here’s what to expect:
Somewhere to go before the wheels fall off
Most of us only reach for support when everything’s already gone a bit sideways. When we’re crying in Tesco, staring blankly at turkey dinos. When we haven’t replied to messages for weeks or when the smallest thing feels like the end of the world.
The Social is an invitation to not wait until the wheels fall off and shit hits the fan. It asks: what if tending to our minds became as ordinary and non-negotiable as brushing our teeth?
Mental maintenance. That’s what we’d do. Not in a self-optimisation, hustle-culture, life-hack way. In a human way. The kind that makes space for feeling, processing, and reflecting, before crisis point. The Self Space Social is built on the radical idea that mental health doesn’t have to be reactive. It can be proactive. Gentle. Ongoing. Shared. We don’t need to break down to get support.
A Curriculum for Coping
We’re expected to know how to do life: how to grieve, how to fail, how to love, how to leave, but no one ever really teaches us. Not in school, not at home, not anywhere, really. We learn about tectonic plates and photosynthesis, but not what to do when someone dies, or our relationship ends, or our identity starts to shift.
The Self Space Social teaches the lessons we needed when we were younger. A compassionate curriculum for the committed, for better coping. We cover the stuff life actually throws at you. Like how to sit with uncertainty. How to be in a relationship without losing yourself. How to reparent your inner child without wanting to scream. It’s education, but not the kind that makes you want to scroll away. It’s learning through conversation, connection, and creativity. It’s tools you can actually use, skills you can actually apply, and sessions that feel like a proper balm for your nervous system.
Belonging
We throw around the words “community” and “belonging” a lot. But genuine, bone-deep, soul-nourishing connection? Nah. Especially in a city like London, where we can be surrounded by millions of people and still feel completely alone. Our feeds are full, our diaries are booked, and yet, we’re craving something deeper.
At The Self Space Social, we’re not trying to replicate online culture IRL. We’re doing something else entirely. We’re building a space where you can meet people you actually want to get to know, not just because they’re like you, but because they stretch you, challenge you, see you. No swiping. No forced small talk. Organic connection, sparked by shared experience. Belonging happens when we risk showing up (awkward bits and all) and find out we’re not as weird or as alone as we thought.
Your Third Space, First
We all need somewhere that isn’t work, and isn’t home. A third space. One that doesn’t ask you to buy another £7 smoothie just to stay in the room. One that isn’t a loud bar, or a silent co-working desk. One where you can be quiet, or curious, or cracked open by something you didn’t even realise you needed.
The Self Space Social is that third space, but we think it might just become your first. It’s where you go to be among others, but still with yourself. To reset before the week begins. To decompress at the end of a hard day. To learn how to have better boundaries, or how to forgive your mum, or how to make peace with your 3am thoughts. It’s not a place to escape real life, it’s a place to come back to it, more equipped, more supported, and a little less alone.
Group Work That Isn’t Shit
If the words “group session” make you think of a cold circle of chairs, stale biscuits and that one guy who always overshares, join the club. Group work gets a bad rap. But done well, it can be one of the most healing, human things you’ll ever experience.
Relief is found in shared experiences. As you hear from others, you quickly learn that you’re not alone. We have more that connects us than you would ever imagine. Group sessions are space-holding experiences: for your joy, your grief, your confusion, your awkwardness. You’ll be guided by people who know how to create safety, intimacy, and ease. You’ll find resonance in others’ stories. You’ll laugh, cry, reflect. You’ll remember what it is to be witnessed, not just tolerated. And unlike your corporate team-building away day, you’ll actually want to come back.
From Sunday Scaries to Monday Resets
There’s a particular dread that creeps in around 5pm on a Sunday. The looming to-do list. The emails you’ve ignored. The quiet existential panic about whether you’re really doing life “right.” We call it the Sunday Scaries. And we’ve built a counterweight.
Our weekly rhythm is designed to soften the edges of the week. From gentle journaling to group workshops, from laughter to learning, The Social gives you anchor points to return to. Monday doesn’t have to be a hard reset. It can be a soft re-entry. A way to ground, before the world starts pulling at you again. Think of it like emotional stretching. The warm-up before the mental sprint.
It’s Not Self-Help. It’s Self (with Others)
The self-help aisle is overflowing. Podcasts, books, reels, newsletters. And yet, so many of us still feel lost in our own heads. Mental maintenance can’t keep happening solely in isolation. Mental maintenance happens in relationship. In reflection. In response.
At The Self Space Social, the “self” is never solitary. You’ll be surrounded by people who’ve chosen to show up, for themselves and for each other. Therapists who hold hope. Peers who hold space. You’ll build emotional muscle not just through information, but through interaction. You’ll be seen. Heard. Supported. And maybe, for the first time in a long time, you’ll feel like you don’t have to carry it all alone.