Sort Your Head Out: Mental health without all the bollocks

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The book is very episodic and comes across slightly repetitive. I imagine a lot of the text may have started off life as a blog. It has a very bloggy feel about it. Chapter 18 is typical starting; For more information, see penninghame.org. Penninghame offers a sliding scale of fees and bursaries may also be available. I have spent years as a broadcaster both in radio and TV. I have hosted numerous shows on BBC 5Live, BBC London and talkSPORT and presented documentaries for BBC Three and Channel 4. From 2016-2018 I hosted the drive time show on Talk Radio, covering the Brexit referendum, two general elections and the 2016 US Presidential Election, live from Washington DC. In this extract from his new book, broadcaster and journalist Sam Delaney tells how he embraced a simpler, more idle lifestyle to save his mental health

Keeping it all inside was what nearly dragged Sam under. Then he began to open up and share his story with others. Soon his life started to get better and better. Now, he's written this book to help you do the same. So, can you sort out your head ina week? I was deeply sceptical but, yes, I now believe you can. Will you fix all your problems? Probably not. But the process gives you a clear roadmap for your onward journey.I can’t recommend it highly enough. Covering his complex upbringing, fast paced career, struggles with addiction and recovery, and detailing lessons he’s learnt along the way, Sort Your Head Outis Sam’s startlingly raw, compassionate and hilarious account of why opening up is the first step to sorting your head out.The Scottish Association for Mental Health is urging people to to talk to friends and family about any mental health issues they may be dealing with. It feels good to give. Giving your time can be very rewarding and can connect you to your community. Research shows doing an act of kindness every week boosts your mood and increases your wellbeing! Despite believing it to be as important as, if not more than, their physical health, almost a quarter of Scottish people are neglecting their mental wellbeing. I must say here that screaming, sobbing and climbing the walls aren’t obligatory. Also, not all the course was painful – there were momentsof wild energy, blissful peace and immense playfulness. The sheer inventiveness of it surprised and delighted me time and again.

When I landed my first job in journalism I told myself that the best way to succeed was to never stop. When I finished at the office I would go home and write down ideas, do bits of research, read other newspapers and magazines obsessively. I was a product of Thatcherism – totally in thrall to my own productivity. I didn’t just want a steady job that paid the bills. I wanted to create great things constantly and be defined by them. And I also wanted to get totally shitfaced every weekend (plus sometimes on a Thursday). 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. Keeping it all inside was what nearly dragged Sam under. Then he began to open up and share his story with others. Soon his life started to get better and better. Now, he’s written this book to help you do the same. It is an intense course,’ agrees Butler, ‘but thereare very few dangers, as it’s planned and paced around each individual – everyone participates to the degree they wish.’ He adds that it may not be suitable for some people with mental health issues, and everyone wanting to take the course has an interview witha course leader, and completes a questionnaire before admission.

I told myself that football was my hobby. But going to football was always as much about getting twatted as it was watching the game. Similarly, playing Monday-night five-a-side was only a ritual we endured prior to the post-match beers. Delaney says about the book: “Like most blokes my age, I have been through some ups and down, including periods where I worked way too hard, drank way too much and let the stress get out of hand. I wrote this book because I didn’t feel there was anyone out there who I could relate to who was sharing similar experiences.