- author, Navtej Johar
- role, BBC News
After attempting suicide last year, Simon wants politicians to prioritise investment in mental health so more people can get the help they need.
This article contains references to suicidal thoughts.
“I just felt like I’d let everyone down, that I’d failed, that I wasn’t good enough, that I shouldn’t be here anymore.”
Simon, a father of two, is determined to speak openly and honestly about what happened to him, even though it will be extremely difficult.
The 46-year-old works for a food and drink manufacturer and lives in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, with his wife and teenage daughter.
Last November, Simon was diagnosed with depression and attempted suicide.
He is one of many people who have contacted the BBC through Your Voice, Your Vote to let us know that mental health is the most important issue to them in this election.
“Things have come to a head.”
Last year Simon’s mental health deteriorated due to pressures at work and at home. He was on a waiting list to receive an autism diagnosis but has yet to receive one.
“I tried to avoid getting up in the morning because I felt like I wouldn’t get through the day. I didn’t want to do anything,” Simon reveals.
He lost two stone in weight and didn’t sleep for “weeks and weeks on end”.
“Things came to a head one night and if my wife and daughter hadn’t been there it could have been pretty serious,” he said.
“Thankfully they kept me inside but I ended up going to the emergency room at the hospital.”
But a week later, Simon left home and attempted suicide.
He was given help from a local mental health crisis team and was forced to take nine weeks off work to recover.
Simon said his recovery is “not there yet” but overall it’s “going very well.”
But he believes he would have benefited from direct intervention sooner.
“If we had had face-to-face support before, we wouldn’t have had the issues we experienced in November,” he said.
“I think some of the services are good, but I don’t think there are enough of them.”
Simon now wants to see more investment in mental health services and for political parties to prioritise mental health in this election.
“It’s destroying people’s families. It’s destroying people’s lives unnecessarily. It almost destroyed my life. This can’t be tolerated,” he said.
Nearly two thirds (66%) of respondents were concerned about the state of mental health services provided by the NHS.
“It’s seen as a sign of weakness.”
An estimated 1.2 million people were on waiting lists for community-based NHS mental health services at the end of June 2022, according to a report by the National Audit Office.
Mind spokesperson Rosie Weatherly said: “It’s incredibly urgent that whoever takes over as the next government prioritises mental health.”
Simon believes his suffering has been exacerbated because he is a man.
He says there is often a sense among men that they “have to be manly and mature.”
“People don’t want to talk about it because they see it as a sign of weakness,” he says.
Simon is now part of men’s suicide prevention charity Andy’s Man Club and says talking to other men who have been through similar experiences has “helped me so much”, and he now volunteers with the charity.
“No one should take their own life because it’s a permanent decision that can’t be undone,” he says.
“Being depressed is temporary, taking your own life is permanent.”
What are the political parties promising on mental health and male suicide?
Conservative Party The government says its suicide prevention strategy will ensure employers in male-dominated industries have the right support in place for staff, such as mental health first aiders, and it will expand NHS mental health programmes to include talking therapies in the next parliament.
Labor The ministry says it will recruit 8,500 mental health professionals to reduce mental health waiting lists, provide mental health support in every school and open walk-in hubs in every community “so that no young man and boy suffers alone”.
LDP It also calls for the introduction of regular mental health screenings and for all schools to have qualified mental health professionals.
Green Party The ministry says it will ensure that everyone who needs it can get evidence-based mental health treatment within 28 days, and that every primary school, secondary school and sixth form college will have paid, trained counsellors.
Plaid Cymru The government has said it supports reform of the Mental Health Act, which it says is “long overdue”, and that it will implement measures in parallel with devolution.
The B.B.C. Scottish National Party and Reform Britainbut they didn’t respond.
In its manifesto, the SNP called on the next UK government to increase NHS spending by £10 billion a year, with £1.6 billion of that to Scotland, while the Reform Party has promised an extra £17 billion a year for the NHS.
If you’re affected by the issues discussed in this story, here’s how you can get help: BBC Action Line.
Your voice, your vote: What would you like BBC News to cover this election?
