'Dear men of London, it's okay to admit if you're feeling lonely'
Being surrounded by people doesn't always stop you feeling like you're alone, says mental health first aider Richard Duggan. In a city like London it can feel like you never get a minute to yourself.
Even when you're surrounded by huge crowds in the street or boisterous colleagues in the office you can still feel incredibly alone.
Having a mental illness can be very isolating, particularly for men who don't always feel like they can open up.
In the UK, the highest suicide rate is among men aged 45 to 49 and men are three times as likely to die by suicide than women, according to the Samaritans.
The rate of deaths among under 25s increased by 23.7 per cent, reaching 730 deaths in 2018.
Looking at rates of suicide by English region, the lowest rate was London in 2017, according to the Office of National Statistics.
There were 7.7 deaths per 100,000 that year. But one death to suicide is too many.
The Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) is leading a movement against suicide, the single biggest killer of men under 45 in the UK and the cause of 18 deaths every day.
It urges men to talk about their feelings, to reach out when they need help and not to feel ashamed if they're living with poor mental health.
Many men feel they aren't "manly" for talking about their emotions or what's going on in their minds.
To speak about feeling low, sad, anxious, depressed or even suicidal is seen as a sign of weakness.
This could not be further from the truth.
There's a lot less stigma around speaking about mental health now; that's partly down to the work of the charities previously mentioned and a number of high profile celebrities talking publicly about their own struggles.
But it's also thanks to ordinary people who've been brave and confided in someone about how they're feeling, breaking down stereotypes one conversation at a time.
Several months ago I opened up publicly for the first about my own struggles with mental health and how talking about my depression saved me from taking my own life.
Although I felt incredibly nervous about sharing my own story, I hoped that in speaking out it would make a difference to someone out there who was in crisis.
The conversations I had with those I was close to at the darkest time in my life were incredibly painful - not just for myself but for my family and friends too.
But now they have a much clearer understanding of how I reached that dark stage in my life and how they can help support me going forward.
It's so important we keep the conversation about mental health going, not just on World Mental Health Day, but every single day.
So please, if you're a man in London who's having a hard time with his mental health, just know you are not alone, not really.
There's nothing wrong with feeling lonely. What's wrong is not feeling you can ask for help, because you can.
Having a mental illness can be very isolating, particularly for men who don't always feel like they can open up.
In the UK, the highest suicide rate is among men aged 45 to 49 and men are three times as likely to die by suicide than women, according to the Samaritans.
The rate of deaths among under 25s increased by 23.7 per cent, reaching 730 deaths in 2018.
Looking at rates of suicide by English region, the lowest rate was London in 2017, according to the Office of National Statistics.
There were 7.7 deaths per 100,000 that year. But one death to suicide is too many.
The Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) is leading a movement against suicide, the single biggest killer of men under 45 in the UK and the cause of 18 deaths every day.
It urges men to talk about their feelings, to reach out when they need help and not to feel ashamed if they're living with poor mental health.
Many men feel they aren't "manly" for talking about their emotions or what's going on in their minds.
To speak about feeling low, sad, anxious, depressed or even suicidal is seen as a sign of weakness.
This could not be further from the truth.
There's a lot less stigma around speaking about mental health now; that's partly down to the work of the charities previously mentioned and a number of high profile celebrities talking publicly about their own struggles.
But it's also thanks to ordinary people who've been brave and confided in someone about how they're feeling, breaking down stereotypes one conversation at a time.
Several months ago I opened up publicly for the first about my own struggles with mental health and how talking about my depression saved me from taking my own life.
Although I felt incredibly nervous about sharing my own story, I hoped that in speaking out it would make a difference to someone out there who was in crisis.
The conversations I had with those I was close to at the darkest time in my life were incredibly painful - not just for myself but for my family and friends too.
But now they have a much clearer understanding of how I reached that dark stage in my life and how they can help support me going forward.
It's so important we keep the conversation about mental health going, not just on World Mental Health Day, but every single day.
So please, if you're a man in London who's having a hard time with his mental health, just know you are not alone, not really.
There's nothing wrong with feeling lonely. What's wrong is not feeling you can ask for help, because you can.
