Tom Grennan encourages mental health discussions

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Mariam Issimdar

BBC News, Bedfordshire

The singer Tom Grennan said he now found it easier to talk about mental health issues to his friends than when he was younger.

The 29-year-old Bedford-born singer made the comment during a conversation with a winner of the BBC’s Make a Difference Awards (MAD) which recognises ordinary people who have made a difference to their communities.

Talking to MAD winner, Kevin Willows, who helped set up a bereavement walking group, Grennan revealed the importance of walking to him.

“If I’m ever feeling like I want to get something off my chest, if it’s with friends, or my wife or my parents, I always say, ‘can we go for a walk?'” said Grennan.

Discussing the importance of walking and exercise, Grennan said “a walk can save a life, talking can save a life”.

The son of a builder revealed how growing up in Bedford meant he often found it tricky to navigate his emotional side.

“Little towns are very much like alpha (towns), with boys anyway, nobody wants to seem like they’re weak,” he said.

It was his mother who encouraged him to express his emotions, telling him “if you’ve got emotions then let them out, because letting them out is always the best thing”.

‘Lots of tears’

Grennan described how on a return visit to his home town, he had open conversations with his friends about “our feelings, about what was going on and there was a lot of tears, there was a lot of laughter, those barriers were breaking down,” he said.

“I think as friends we became closer and cut the rubbish out.

“And as grown men now we can sit down and talk about what we’re going through and how we can lend a hand.”

Grennan said being the victim of an unprovoked attack and hospitalised with a broken jaw while at university was when he first encountered being depressed.

“It ruined me (the attack), why did it happen to me, why did these people not like me?,” he questioned at the time.

It was by joining a music group, where he met his best friend, and talking as well as singing which helped him recover from the trauma.

The BBC Make A Difference Awards celebrate those who make life better for others in our communities.

Listen to the full broadcast of Tom Grennan meeting some of the Make a Difference heroes with Gaby Roslin.

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