Besties, this week is Mental Health Awareness Week. 

Touring can be a lonely lifestyle when you are moving to a different place week after week, living out of a suitcase and all you have to keep you company are your thoughts, and this can impact on us drastically.

It’s much more common these days to talk about our mental health, and someone who believes that there is no such thing as talking too much about this issue is actor Darren Day.  Darren has been fairly vocal about his personal struggles, so that awareness and support can be raised for the cause.

Darren has struggled with his own mental health and addiction for many years, having been misdiagnosed previously. But he is now on the right track and dealing with these issues and his sobriety. 

Suffering with dark moods that could change drastically from one minute to the next, he was eventually diagnosed with bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder, meaning that he would often experience very intense emotions. 

It’s important to remember that mental health struggles can happen to anyone, at any age and in many different ways. Darren has been honest and open about his story and has encouraged others to do the same, sharing the belief that he is lucky to be alive.

He is now an active patron of the mental health charity iokn2bok, (It’s OK not to be OK), which was set up by Tony Wilsher following his own experiences. 

Darren took part in a skydive for the charity of which he said: “I was terrified, but I did do it and it was one of those moments when you push yourself and you do something that you never thought you’d be able to do. That moment when you step out of the plane and you step out in to the clouds, nothing beats that moment for fear.”

With 1 in 4 people experiencing a mental health problem each year, there is still a long way to go with awareness and understanding, but the support is out there and one day you will be okay.

To learn more about the charity or to donate, please click here.

Darren is currently on tour with the musical Footloose, with tickets for select touring venues available here.

For more information and resources about Mental Health Week, please click here.