'Being a misfit is brilliant' - Everly Pregnant Brothers' Big Shaun on his mental health 'mission'

On Twitter he regularly opens up about his own struggles and tries to help others through theirs, seeing it as his ‘mission’ to share what he has learned about the condition with people.

The 51-year-old father of one says he has experienced mental illness for most of his life, but only begun to understand more about it when he got older.

He was first diagnosed with depression in his 20s, and again experienced issues in his 30s, but recovered from both episodes relatively well.

But it was while he was working as a funeral director in 2017 that his ‘black dog’ struck again, and Shaun was once again left struggling to cope.

“I found myself bottling everything up, trying to grit my teeth and just get on with it,” he says.

“I knew I was suffering but I didn’t want to worry people or let them down.

“I started making a few mistakes at work and ended up letting two families down really badly.

“Then came a lot of thoughts about should I really be here, so I knew I had to do something about it.”

Since then, Shaun has changed jobs twice, and now has a much better understanding of what makes him the way he is and how to control it.

“Opening up is really important,” he says.

“My crusade had been to get that message across. Men love taking the mickey out of each other but when it comes to talking about anything deep that is really scary for us.

“We need to change that attitude and get rid of the idea of manning up. If you really want to be a man you recognise when you are struggling and talk about it.”

Shaun currently works at solicitors Irwin Mitchell, who he says have been brilliant at helping him and others like him cope with the mental health issues that all too many of us experience.

And he also says that his music, DJing, comedy and compering careers have kept him going through the difficult times.

“I am thankful for it every day and I have to be a bit mentally challenged to come up with the lyrics I come up with,” he says.

“But I don’t think it is something you should be ashamed of or have to hide. It is part of who you are.

“Being a misfit is brilliant. If you don’t fit in you are an individual - they haven’t found a space for you.

“But you need to embrace it and find your way of dealing with it. Whether that be singing, running marathons, painting pictures or even just reading.”

But most of all Shaun says he is indebted to those closest to him, his second wife Janine, his daughter and a strong network of very close friends who understand him.

“Having people you can talk to is the most important thing.”