Professor Green warns 65% of men face mental health issues

Professor Green says professor green was once on a dark road that could have led to suicide, and he is now urging men to seek help before they reach crisis point. His warning lands alongside a study of 2,500 men showing that 65% have faced mental health issues in the past three years.

Green and the crisis point

Professor Green said, “Forty years of being me nearly killed me. And I don’t think it’s dissimilar to what a lot of people go through when we hit middle age.” He added, “I’ve never tried to kill myself, but through misuse of substances, to a really dangerous extent and in isolation, there was every chance of death by misadventure could have occurred.”

That is the tension in his campaign: he is speaking from experience, not theory. He said he hit rock bottom two years ago, and that a crisis point took him to a psychiatrist. He also said, “I thought, ‘Am I an addict?’ I don’t think I am. It’s not something I wake up and do.’ I was always at crisis point and trying to cope. They were escape ­decisions.”

2,500 men and therapy

The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy study of 2,500 men found that 70% will only consider therapy if they reach breaking point. That leaves a large gap between early support and the point at which many men are willing to act, which is exactly where Green has positioned his warning.

Green also said, “Coming out the other side and sitting with the shame of it, but realising that there was every chance that it [suicide] could have happened, I could have put my son through everything I went through and then some.” He co-parents his five-year-old son, Slimane, with actress Karima McAdams, and said, “I was young and I didn’t understand. I’d assessed the loss of my dad from every point, but never from the point of view of a parent.”

Wes Streeting and England

Professor Green said he has collaborated with Health Secretary Wes Streeting on the first men’s health strategy for England, launched last year. The strategy focuses on suicide prevention, alcohol issues and gambling issues, which gives the campaign a policy route as well as a personal one.

He lost his father, Peter, to suicide 18 years ago, and said that at 40 he was diagnosed with ADHD and autism. He also said, “Getting older is a luxury, there’s only one alternative.” Green released the single No Management in January and is joining Example on tour in May, but the sharper story here is the warning he is attaching to those milestones: get help before the crisis becomes the headline.