“I’m quite a routine person. If I don’t have a routine I stress out,” he said. “So I think having that routine back in place definitely helped sort of get back on track.”
He said he now had a strong support system – his partner, old friends, new friends and family, but said the key was taking the first step to talk.
“Even just regular check-ins with your mates or with your family or with your partner… even if it is, you know, having a coffee with a mate, or just going for a walk… It just feels like a massive weight off your shoulders,” he said.
“A problem shared is a problem halved”
As part of Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month, his partner is hosting a men-only book club meet-up on 18 November – not as a therapy session, but as a relaxed space to chat, listen, or simply be around others.
“You don’t have to be a massive reader. Just come along, have a coffee, bring a book,” he said.
“We’re really going to try and encourage people to just have a chat and that’s all it is.
“That’s all it takes.”