THE Repair Shop's Jay Blades has revealed the moment he considered driving his car into a motorway bridge to end his life.
The telly star has opened up about hitting rock bottom six years
ago and recalled cruel words from a teacher who told him his life
"would always amount to nothing".
He told the Mirror: "I was unable to see tomorrow. I couldn’t see myself existing in the future. It was everything, the breakdown of my marriage, my business, me not being able to speak about it to anyone.
"At that moment what was going through my head was everything I’d heard
at secondary school, that I was nothing, a failure.
“My careers teacher when I was 14 told me it wasn’t worth trying because
my life would always amount to nothing."
The 51-year-old presenter admitted he "couldn't even think straight"
about the impact his suicide would have on his children.
However, he was saved by the motorway bridges he drove past that night
having crash barriers.
He added: "If the barriers weren’t there you wouldn’t be speaking to me
right now."
He then ran out of petrol and found himself in an almost deserted car
park 100 miles from his home, where he stayed for around a week.
After his car park stay, Jay checked into a hotel where the police – who had been contacted by his soon-to-be ex-wife Jade – arrived with a psychiatric nurse after tracking him, and they let him leave with his friend Gerald Bailey.
Jay stayed with his pal's mother and stepfather, and he was able to make
a recovery.
In his new book Making It, he opened up on the moment he sat in his
friend's car, and wrote: "I bawled and I howled. I was brought up not to
cry, to always act tough.
"I had never cried in front of another man before. When I stopped, the
numbness had passed. I was alive again.”
YOU’RE NOT ALONE
EVERY 90 minutes in the UK a life is lost to suicide.
It doesn't discriminate, touching the lives of people in every corner of society – from the homeless and unemployed to builders and doctors, reality stars and footballers.
It's the biggest killer of people under the age of 35, more deadly than cancer and car crashes.
Yet it's rarely spoken of, a taboo that threatens to continue its deadly rampage unless we all stop and take notice, now.
That is why The Sun launched the You're Not Alone campaign.
The aim is that by sharing practical advice, raising awareness and breaking down the barriers people face when talking about their mental health, we can all do our bit to help save lives.
Let's all vow to ask for help when we need it, and listen out for others… You're Not Alone.
If you, or anyone you know, needs help dealing with mental health problems, the following organisations provide support:
- CALM, www.thecalmzone.net, 0800 585 858
- Heads Together, www.headstogether.org.uk
- Mind, www.mind.org.uk, 0300 123 3393
- Papyrus, www.papyrus-uk.org, 0800 068 41 41
- Samaritans, www.samaritans.org, 116 123
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