“I’ve had problems with my mental health pretty much as long as I can remember – early teenage years – but I ignored it. I put it down to just growing up, being young, hormones, and all that. But there came a point when I was in university where I realised: this isn’t normal anymore; this isn’t just how it’s meant to be.

“I didn’t feel like I could speak to anybody, especially as a guy. You’re expected to be this big strong alpha male that doesn’t have feelings or find things difficult. It was nerve-wracking talking to someone about it for the first time but after I did I felt incredibly relieved and my relationships are so much richer and stronger. You tend to think you’re alone when dealing with things like this, but the more I talk about it to people the more they open up back to me – people who I never would have thought had problems. You see others who seem really confident or really pretty, and you think they’ve not got anything to worry about. But everyone is dealing with something and has their own battle to face.

“Mental health is something we should all talk about more for everyone’s good. I know it seems scary but once it’s out there it can’t control you, you can own it. Be open and honest, and want to listen.”