But when he reached his thirties, work, relationships and fatherhood started to take their toll. Like so many blokes who seemed to be totally fine, he often felt like a complete failure whose life was out of control; anxiety and depression had secretly plagued him for years. Turning to drink and drugs only made things worse. Sam knew he needed help – the problem was that he thought self-help was for hippies, sobriety was for weirdos and therapy was for neurotics. Joining Rob and Adam on this episode of the Halcyon Podcast is two-time William Hill Sports Book of the Year and THREE-time Sports Interviewer of...

This really spoke to me about addiction, fatherhood, and the amount of unnecessary pressure we put ourselves under trying to become someone else's version of male success rather than our authentic self. We can all make a change by being more open with our mates: honest conversations show us all we are not alone in our feelings, and we don’t need to feel so ashamed. It's an honest account of one man's struggle with addiction and mental health, how it impacted his life and what tools he uses to help with his recovery. Sort Your Head Out” is Sam Delaney’s attempt to draft a no-nonsense guide to men’s mental health. He does so less through recourse to medical or academic research, but largely by drawing on his own experience of crushing anxiety, alcoholism, and drug addiction. In doing so, Delaney has written a self-help guide free of earnest psychobabble that seeks to connect with a group often overlooked in the discourse on mental health: working class men.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. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused. Refugee and asylum specialist Louise Calvey talks to us about the reality of the government's 'Stop the boats' policy. Sam also hosts The Reset, a podcast in which he chats to guests about mental health, addiction, recovery and all that sort of stuff.

Went into this thinking I'd just have a laugh, reading along in "Sam's voice" from TFTM. Came out of it learning a lot about myself, my mental health and the way in which men's mental health is overlooked. Not because nobody cares, but because nobody normally puts it in terms that we genuinely understand. 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. I have followed Sam for awhile now via his Podcasts and newsletter. The book is informative, funny and straightforward to read. In 2018 I had a complete nightmare, losing my radio show and TV show within a couple of months of each other. Shortly afterwards, my production company descended into a state of financial pandemonium and all sorts of professional and deeply personal conflict ensued. I was miserable, exhausted and scared of the future. I had been sober for three years and, despite the prevailing chaos, I wasn’t once tempted to throw myself off the wagon. I figured however bad things seemed, my mental health would be a great deal worse with a hangover. Mind you, this was the first big test I had faced since I quit drink. 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.Thankfully, more positive role models are emerging who are showing you can be successful AND vulnerable. But when he reached his thirties, work, relationships and fatherhood started to take their toll. Like so many blokes who seemed to be totally fine, he often felt like a complete failure whose life was out of control; anxiety and depression had secretly plagued him for years. Turning to drink and drugs only made things worse. Sam knew he needed help - the problem was that he thought self-help was for hippies, sobriety was for weirdos and therapy was for neurotics. The Mirror's newsletter brings you the latest news, exciting showbiz and TV stories, sport updates and essential political information. I have had to train myself not to fear idleness but to embrace it. I have had to discover beauty and fun in the day-to-day. It is all there in front of us. Nora Ephron, the famous Hollywood screenwriter, once said: “Interesting stories happen to people who know how to tell them.” Nowadays, I spend most of my time telling people stories. Sometimes they ask me how come so many interesting things happen to me. They don’t. The same amount of remarkable, funny or stimulating things happen to me as to the next person. It’s just that, these days, I am clear-eyed enough to see them.