When Len Northfield was 28-years-old, he woke on a hospital trolley receiving emergency treatment.

Len’s last thought prior to that moment was to bid the world goodbye as he attempted to take his own life.

Len said: “I still remember coming to and being surrounded by medics intent on saving my life and being angry with them for succeeding.

“I also remember spending the night hooked up to a heart monitor with a nurse watching over me.”

However, more than 25 years on, Len has learned how to manage the depression which drove this and is now a trained counsellor who, as a peer support worker, uses his lived experience to help people in the acute psychiatric admissions ward in Wishaw General Hospital on their recovery.

The Strathaven man shared his story to remind those who have a mental health problem that there are people and services to help them.

Len continued: “I’ve suffered depression all my life and reached those points where you find yourself in this hateful, desolate place where you are the only inhabitant.

“However, I want to help people see that they are not alone and that it’s possible to learn to identify the signs that often proceed a bout of depression, manage them and lead a relatively normal life.

“I take medication every day and will probably take it for the rest of my life.

“But I also use a variety of other tools to help me such as Mindfulness and use the Wellness Recovery Action Plan (MyRap) tool which is based on the principle of playing to your strengths.”

Reflecting on the distance Len has come, he added: “Life is good and I owe a lot to the individuals and services who helped me and I want to help those who have reached the bottom to find the first step on the ladder out.”