Sort Your Head Out: Mental health without all the bollocks

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He has learnt to ‘not belittle your own problems or pain’ and he feels hopeful that the newest generation of young men feel more able to discuss their feelings and experiences without judgment. Perhaps it gave me a renewed perspective to my own relationship with coping and also to better understand the struggles that many of my loved ones faced. Sam stresses the importance of looking after yourself before it reaches this point: mental health shouldn’t only become your priority after you hit rock bottom. Between the 1960s and the 1980s some of the most influential men in the country spent most of the day in the pub and got paid more than the Prime Minister.

They changed what we ate, how we dressed and who we voted for and celebrated with fast cars, private jets and champagne. By the time I was in my late 30s I was struggling to cope with the combined pressures of work, family and socialising – and had started to self-medicate with alcohol. Sam believes lots of the conversation around this topic risks men feeling this way, and in turn they disengage from any mental health discussions. This is an extract from Sort Your Head Out: Mental Health Without all the Bollocks by Sam Delaney (Little, Brown Book Group). A couple of articles in the newspaper about my own little struggles: the drinking, the anxiety, the childhood stuff I’d never quite shaken off.

Writing stuff down about my own vulnerabilities, resisting the constant urge to dress it up in jokes and irony, took quite a lot of determination for a professional dickhead like myself. We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. If word got round that I was seeing a shrink, I thought they would see me as weak, or a nut job or – worst of all– a whinger. Ultimately, Sam wants young people to know that they can admit if they’re struggling, no matter how ‘trivial’ they think their reasons are. Follow Sam in his first year of fatherhood as he tries to figure out what a good dad should be, and, even more importantly, what sort of dad he should be.

The language surrounding mental health can deter some men from seeking help, says Sam Delaney- journalist and dad from southwest London, who released a bestselling book on the subject in 2023. Whilst the two are linked, I am aware that many people who want to ‘sort their head out’ don’t have drunk or drug problems. In 2018 I had a complete nightmare, losing my radio show and TV show within a couple of months of each other. Sign our petition to keep people in their homes Urgent action is needed to prevent even more people being pushed into homelessness. There are still old-fashioned ideas on what it means to be a tough, strong man that exists across all social classes.

Some really good guests on and interesting subjects, but they might just chat about general life stuff or have a laugh. This book is great for anyone with a drink and drug problem who also has a successful business, a stable marriage, is financially able to afford personal trainers and two different shrinks.