David Skaith said he shut himself off after his father, Bob, died during the pandemic and reconnecting with sport helped him return to normality.
The mayor told The Press it was not until he almost reached “breaking point” that he started to speak out about his mental health.
He said speaking to others about his mental health and playing sport again had “such a massive impact”.
“I know the power of what sport has done for me,” he said, “and I want to be able to give that same offering to other people who maybe in a very similar situation.”
‘I know the power of what sport has done for me,’ says mayor David Skaith(Image: Supplied)
The Labour mayor is now investing millions to help communities become healthier.
His campaign looks to support problems around men’s mental health in addition to regional challenges such as access to activity, sport and the outdoors, and improve active travel around the county.
Mr Skaith said the funding will be open to community groups and local authorities.
He said the campaign will also help understand the problems the region faces around access to mental health support.
It aims to enhance early intervention mental health services in the community to avoid people only seeking help once they have reached a crisis point.
“We don’t want to get to crisis point,” Mr Skaith said. “We don’t want to get to a point where they have, literally, suffered for so long [and] in silence, that they feel like there is, unfortunately, only one way out.
“We know that the biggest killer in men under 50 is suicide. That is a shocking statistic that cannot continue.
“But part of that is a lot of men – like myself – we just don’t seek help. We just don’t see it as normal to go and talk about how we’re feeling.
“Until I found it a very normal thing to do, I would be in the same role – I would never talk about how I was feeling, whereas now I can very openly.”
Mr Skaith said supporting people’s mental health would also bring economic benefits.
“If people don’t have their health and their wellbeing, how inclined are they to go to college, to go develop a new skill, to go look for work? It’s all interwoven,” he said.
Proposals to give mayors control over hospitals welcomed
The campaign comes weeks after it was announced that local government secretary Steve Reed is considering giving mayors control over more local services, including hospitals.
Mr Skaith said he supported the proposals, adding: “We’ve already started to plan for it.
“We know it’s not happening tomorrow, but we know what our offering would be in terms of health and how we could play a role in that.
“This is partly why we started to look at this element – how we can use sport activity, men’s mental health – to support that.”
Recommended reading:
Mr Skaith said the combined authority is also “developing a plan about health on the high street”.
This, he said, would focus on bringing hospital services, such as blood tests and even some cancer screenings, into high streets to reduce demand on hospitals.
He said the proposals would help more people be seen by health professionals, including those who live in rural areas.
“Reporting of cancer levels are much lower in rural communities because people are not seeking that service [as] it just isn’t there,” he said.
The Samaritans say that whatever you’re going through, you can call them for free, at any time, from any phone, on 116 123.