0:00
reaching out to someone was a big deal
0:01
for me i had no personality i had no
0:03
humor because those guys i think
0:04
laughing just go yeah all right yeah but
0:06
then asking someone how you really are
0:07
it's important to open that dialogue up
0:09
further but now i can look back and be
0:11
thankful that i'm here now so with um
0:14
better on my own mental health i
0:19
and the reason why i wanted to mention a
0:21
therapist is i know that everyone
0:22
doesn't have access to one but i think
0:24
there's a stigma that comes around when
0:26
we're taught mental health and speaking
0:28
to therapists that there must be
0:30
something wrong with you to
0:31
speak to a friend about something and i
0:32
think it's difficult to admit because
0:34
that almost puts you in a different
0:35
category we label ourselves but for me
0:37
having someone who was a professional
0:39
listener really just helped me
0:41
speak and open up to someone who was
0:44
going to be non-judgmental of things
0:47
i think for me being a guy
0:51
even my dad not being a person who
0:53
particularly expressed much emotion i
0:56
suppressed that a lot as well
0:58
so reaching out to someone was a big
1:00
deal for me but reaching out to a
1:01
therapist and kind of breaking down my
1:04
struggles my issues and my problems
1:07
really just helped and
1:11
one of those services which isn't
1:13
cheap and it is an expense but i think
1:16
like with like we say speaking about
1:22
commit financing to our own health and
1:23
fitness and we're very proactive with
1:26
that with all mental health very
1:27
reactive so for me that was like a big
1:29
part of one of the pillars that i needed
1:32
for that part of my life and is this
1:34
something you'll continue with or was it
1:35
something that you did for a short space
1:37
so at the time i was doing it for i got
1:40
a short intense block yeah so i was
1:47
as it started to help me more and more i
1:49
kind of started doing it once a month
1:51
and i was just implementing practices
1:52
that i'd worked on and strategies and
1:54
techniques to do so again being
1:57
more proactive rather than reactive with
1:58
it so that kind of better me for the
2:00
long run as well and setting those
2:02
foundations so you mentioned
2:04
being a man and men are less likely to
2:07
open up to each other you mentioned that
2:08
your dad didn't particularly open up
2:11
is this something that you are doing
2:12
more now you've had therapy and
2:15
encouraging your your friends to do the
2:17
same yeah so i put a post about two
2:19
months ago talking about this as well
2:20
and like just talking and
2:26
pushing people to talk about more and
2:27
even the mma and if even if i can't get
2:29
the answer to people because that's
2:30
something i think we've got to be
2:32
people giving the wrong advice it may be
2:35
very good intention but it doesn't mean
2:36
advice is correct but if i can point
2:38
people in the right direction uh to the
2:40
right guidance the right therapist or
2:42
whatever that may be just talking and
2:44
open up and speaking about that is an
2:45
avenue to then get people into the right
2:47
avenues whether you need to be
2:49
and just listening as well when people
2:51
say how are you often we just go yeah
2:53
fine without really answering honestly
2:56
and i think we all have a duty to listen
2:57
to the people around us as well be it
2:59
your your male friends your girlfriends
3:02
regardless i think we all need to speak
3:04
more to each other i think even asking
3:05
that question twice is important as well
3:07
because guys i think laughing just go
3:08
yeah we're right yeah but then asking
3:09
someone how you really are it's
3:11
important to open that dialogue up
3:14
being underweight it really really
3:16
massively affected my mental health and
3:18
i was really really struggling um
3:21
and now that i've gained weight it's
3:23
completely changed my life like
3:26
when i was struggling with my mental
3:28
health it was like everything was just
3:30
negative i it impacted my relationships
3:36
myself just a person i was very like
3:40
very dull inside i had no personality i
3:44
um i was going through it when i was at
3:47
obviously i was with lots of people and
3:49
i i had a lot of anxiety around people
3:51
and lots of social anxiety um
3:54
i mean people make like jokes and i just
3:56
i didn't respond to them i had no
3:57
personality whatsoever so now that i can
3:59
compare myself now to how i was then
4:02
it's like a completely different person
4:05
with that my whole life has changed like
4:08
i'm so much more positive which means
4:11
believe in myself to do things i want to
4:13
do which then makes me do those things
4:14
and achieve the things i've always
4:23
i guess with that your life changes with
4:24
that like you really do
4:26
start to gain lots of confidence and
4:30
change your life it sounds like you got
4:32
your life back yeah i have i
4:34
never realized i lost it and like now
4:36
i've realized how much i missed out on
4:39
before and it's just it's crazy for me
4:41
to think that i did that for eight years
4:44
and through those eight years there were
4:46
such fundamental years in my life
4:48
because i was growing up and becoming a
4:53
into such a different person and the
4:55
person i didn't want to be
4:58
but now i can look back and be thankful
