They made it through. So can you.

"I sat in my van for three hours one night, engine running. I don't know what made me turn it off. I think it was thinking about my kids."

After my company folded I lost everything in about six months. The house, the van, my self-respect. I couldn't tell my wife how bad it was — I was supposed to be the provider. I started drinking to sleep. One night I sat in my mate's van in the garage and I genuinely thought about it. I rang the Samaritans at 2am, just to have someone to talk to. That call saved my life. I didn't fix everything overnight — it took two years of debt counselling, therapy through the NHS, and a lot of honest conversations with my wife. But I'm still here. My kids still have their dad.

"I hadn't left my flat in three weeks. I was ordering food just so I had a reason to open the door."

I moved to Birmingham for work and knew nobody. After lockdown I just never really reconnected with people. I'd go to work, come home, stare at my phone. I stopped replying to messages. I stopped eating properly. I started thinking that nobody would notice if I wasn't here — and that felt like a fact, not a thought. My mum called one Sunday and I just broke down on the phone. She drove three hours to see me. I went to the GP the next day and got referred for counselling. It took eight weeks to get an appointment but it changed everything. I'm not fixed — I still have bad weeks — but I know now that what I was feeling wasn't the truth.

"I'd seen things in 25 years on the job that I'd never talked about. When I retired, it all came at once."

I retired at 50 thinking I'd finally relax. Instead I fell apart. Nightmares, flashbacks, couldn't be in crowds. My wife said I'd become a stranger. I was too proud to admit I needed help — I'd spent my career being the one who helped others. I eventually went to my GP after my wife threatened to leave. I was diagnosed with PTSD. I did EMDR therapy through a charity that supports emergency service workers. It was the hardest thing I've ever done — harder than anything on the job. But I came out the other side. My wife and I are closer than we've been in years. I now volunteer to talk to other officers who are struggling.

"I was hurting myself to feel something other than numb. I thought that was just who I was now."

First year of uni was nothing like I expected. I was lonely, behind on my work, and I'd started self-harming. I hid it for months. I found an online forum for men's mental health and just reading other people's stories made me feel less like a freak. I eventually told my personal tutor — I don't know why, it just came out. She helped me get an emergency appointment with the university counsellor. I also called PAPYRUS, which is specifically for young people. Slowly things got better. I'm in my third year now. I still have hard days but I have tools now. I know the difference between a hard day and a crisis.

"When I lost regular contact with my kids I genuinely didn't see the point in anything. I planned it. I had a date."

My marriage ended badly and I went from seeing my kids every day to every other weekend. I couldn't cope with the silence in the house. I started planning. I had a date. I'd written letters. The only reason I'm here is that my brother came round unannounced and found me in a state. He stayed with me that night and took me to A&E the next morning. I was admitted for a week. It saved my life. After that I got proper support — a men's group through CALM, a therapist, and eventually a solicitor who helped me get more time with my kids. I now see them three times a week. I coach their football team. I nearly missed all of it.

"In my culture you don't talk about mental health. You just get on with it. That nearly killed me."

I worked through the pandemic and saw things I can't unsee. But in my family, in my community, you don't talk about feelings — especially as a man. I kept going until I couldn't. I had a breakdown at work. A colleague sat with me and didn't judge me — she just said 'you need help and that's okay.' I accessed therapy through my NHS trust's occupational health team. I also found a therapist who understood my cultural background, which made a huge difference. I've since spoken openly about my experience at a hospital staff event. The response was overwhelming — so many men came up to me afterwards.