MY thoughts on mental health

Mental fitness for men isn’t about pushing harder or relying on willpower. This article explores how sustainable habits support resilience, regulation, and steadiness, especially at this time of year when motivation can waver and pressure starts to build in the background.

A reflective essay on completing 52 waterfalls in one year, exploring hope, despair, resilience, and what sustains men’s mental health when plans fall apart.

As the year winds down, stress can narrow perspective and pull men towards retreat. A personal reflection on the nervous system, connection, and finding balance through nature.

A personal reflection on male suicide, shame, isolation, and what actually helps men stay alive, especially during the pressures of December.

A grounded guide for men navigating grief at Christmas. Learn how grief affects the male nervous system, why Christmas intensifies emotions, and practical ways men can manage grief, stress, and overwhelm during the festive season.

What happens when burnout forces you to leave the role that shaped your identity? A reflective piece on teaching, men’s mental health, identity loss, and starting again.

Discover the real signs of burnout in men, how it shows up in the body and nervous system, and practical ways to reset, rebalance, and recover

Why self-limiting beliefs show up during change, how they hold men back, and what helps us step forward with confidence and integrity.

This week’s blog is a write-up of my presentation at the Association for Outdoor Therapy Conference. It explores how Walk and Talk, Paddleboard Therapy, and other active approaches can create the right conditions for men to open up, reconnect, and heal.

Struggling with imposter syndrome? Discover how movement, nature, and Walk and Talk Therapy in the Lake District can help men find clarity and confidence.

Many men carry wounds that run deeper than they realise - old pain, shame, or loss that still shapes how they live. At Stand Tall Therapy in Cumbria, we explore how men can transform those emotional wounds into strength, purpose, and connection. Drawing on Robert Bly’s Iron John, this article looks at men’s healing, trauma recovery, and the power of nature-based therapy and men’s groups to turn pain into purpose.

Walking through the Valley of Desolation I was reminded how nature holds both the memory of the storm and the beauty of renewal. This reflection explores how the labels we carry - from diagnoses to the stories we tell ourselves - can shape, limit, or liberate us. Drawing on my own experience of PTSD recovery and my work in men’s mental health, I look at how we can honour our past without being defined by it, and how healing begins when we remember who we are beneath the word

Interoception is simply your ability to sense what’s happening inside your body: the uncomfortable feeling in your stomach before a tough conversation; the tightness in your chest when stresses pile up; and the warmth in your legs after a long exhale. These signals are the raw data your brain uses to decide whether you’re safe, stressed, hungry, tired, threatened or ready. If you can read those signals earlier, you can respond sooner and more appropriately.

Procrastination isn’t about laziness or lack of discipline. It’s often a sign that your nervous system is in protection mode – a body-first signal to slow down. In this piece, Stephen Hall explores why men struggle to get started, what’s really happening beneath the surface, and simple, body-based ways to move through resistance with compassion.

Explore whether a “good addiction” exists. Learn the difference between passion and addiction, with insights from Dr Gabor Maté on habits, freedom, and healing.

Suicide doesn’t always look like despair. Discover how men mask pain, why stereotypes harm, and how connection can save lives.

Male suicide is complex. Explore research on why men struggle, hidden signs, and how conversations can save lives.

Many men say they have no close friends. Discover why friendship gets harder with age, and how men’s groups help rebuild real connection.

Psychosis explained in plain language: what it feels like, how it differs from schizophrenia, common myths, and how men and families can support recovery.

Feeling overloaded? Stand tall by returning to the basics: sleep, movement, time outdoors, steady nutrition, boundaries, and good people around you.