On 19th November with the support of 60 of my work colleagues alongside me at Steve Vick International Ltd, I will be Trekking 20k along the Southwest Jurassic Coastline, in memory of my brother Colin Thomas to raise awareness for men’s mental health.

On the 17th of Feb, this year my world was blown apart when I received the news that my brother Colin aged 52 had taken his own life. My brother had suffered with his mental health on and off over the years and we had no idea that he was struggling again due to work pressures because he chose to keep it to himself to protect us. It is devasting to think that ending his life to him was his only option and he will be forever loved and missed.

This is what mental illness looks like, it is not visible from the outside. It does not show up on an X-ray. You cannot fake depression, but you can fake being ok.

The Male suicide rate is vastly higher than that of females across the world, with work related Suicide being the top cause of men taking their own lives. Almost two-thirds of worldwide Suicides (representing about 1.5% of all deaths) are by men. I believe the biggest stigma right now, with mental health is that men are not talking about it and think that showing vulnerability or that they are struggling is a sign of weakness.

So, with that in mind and with working in a male dominated industry I want to raise awareness of Men’s Mental health and get us all talking in the hope that it might help spare another family going through the hell that mine have been through this year. Let us break the stigma together and say, “It’s ok to have mental health issues!”