#227 – Men and Mental Health with Sam Delaney

VeronicaValli

Sam Delaney was a British jack-the-lad, drinking, partying, and not taking anything seriously. Then his mental health caught up with him and it all came crashing down. Sam talks to Veronica about how hard it is for men to be vulnerable and talk about their feelings and how he hopes his new book will change that.

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about this episode

Journalist and broadcaster Sam Delaney discusses his new book, “Sort Your Head Out: Mental Health Without All the Bollocks.” They talk about the stigma surrounding mental health and how Sam’s book aims to help people struggling with mental health issues, particularly men who grew up in the “jack-the-lad” culture of the 90s. Sam shares his personal experience with addiction and how getting sober improved his mental health and what he’s learned about the importance of seeking help and support when dealing with mental health issues.

In this episode, Sam and Veronica talk about:

Sam’s struggle with mental health and how he wrote Sort Your Head Out as the book he needed when he was struggling.
The British “jack-the-lad” culture of the 90s, which was all about not taking anything seriously and the work hard, play hard mentality
Sam reflects on how long he tried to hide his mental health issues and the fact that anxiety was always a presence in his life
The Gift of Desperation and the moment Sam realized he needed help
How getting sober can improve mental health
Why many of us end up using alcohol to manage anxiety
Vulnerability of men of a certain age when it comes to opening up about their feelings
How therapy helped Sam to speak about his feelings for the first time
Why it’s critical to find the right person who can listen with empathy
Managing the fear of losing friends when getting sober
Men’s struggle with mental health and positive shifts in recent years with men being more open about mental health isuses
Why Sam wrote Sort Your Head Out in a language for the “jack-the-lad” culture and how it encourages men to confront their mental health issues without taking themselves too seriously
Finding joy and fulfillment in the small things in life
Sam’s experience of being middle-aged and embracing a calmer, more peaceful life

About Sam Delaney

Sam Delaney is a writer and broadcaster from London. His new book ‘Sort Your Head Out – Mental Health Without All The Bollocks’ is out now. Sam talks and writes about issues surrounding mental health and addiction. He’s also the co-host of the Top Flight Time Machine podcast (over 20 million downloads and counting) and he writes and podcasts regularly about mental health via The Reset.

His three previous books were: Get Smashed – The Story Of The Men Who Made The Ads That Changed Our Lives (Sceptre, 2007), Night Of The Living Dad (John Murray, 2009) and Mad Men And Bad Men (Faber, 2015). His writing has appeared in The Guardian, Observer, The Sunday Times, Independent, Daily Telegraph, NME, Q, Grazia, Cosmopolitan, the New Statesman and numerous others.

Sam has spent years as a broadcaster both in radio and TV and he has hosted numerous shows on BBC 5Live, BBC London and talkSPORT and presented documentaries for BBC Three and Channel 4.

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