HOLLYOAKS star David Tag is urging men to speak more openly about their mental health struggles after losing two friends to suicide during lockdown.
The Sylver McQueen actor, 36, is urging males to collaborate with MenWalkTalk, a charity for which he became an ambassador after going through a break-up.
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The Manchester born performer dished out some candid advice in the wake of his personal tragedies and said: “Even the happiest of faces can suffer from mental health problems.
“The charity organises get-togethers where you can open up to each other.
“I am a strong-willed person and I found during lockdown a lot of people suffered in a lot of different ways.
“During lockdown two people I know died by suicide.”
A top psychiatrist recently warned that Covid posed the greatest threat to mental health “since the second world war.”
Experts also warned the third coronavirus lockdown, very necessary to reduce rocketing rates of the virus in the UK prior to Christmas, had created a “ticking time bomb” when it came to mental health issues.
A recent paper published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) analysed a plethora of studies regarding mental health and the pandemic.
It found that in some places, suicides had increased towards the back end of 2020, with lower levels being seen at the start of the pandemic.
David, who has also starred in Emmerdale as well as Hollyoaks, and movie S.A.M, believes that despite groups like MenWalkTalk there is still a stigma around mental health.
He told the Manchester Evening News: “When it gets down to the nitty gritty men pull back and think ‘I’m being pathetic, weak and stupid.’
“There is a stigma.”
The dad-to-be believes such support groups can help guys tackle their problems as being close to nature can help them to relax, and open up more.
