Show 32 – Break Down and Repair – an interview with Mark Simmonds.

Imagine starting work this morning, opening your laptop and a lion leaps out from the screen and growls; “NO!”

This was the situation Mark Simmonds found himself in one day. Despite living his dream of running his own business, Mark found he was incapable of tackling anything on his to-do list. He tried undertaking even the most simple of tasks and each time the lion roared “NO”!

Mark had suffered a complete mental health breakdown brought on by work related stress.

For The Jordan Legacy CIC’s first brand new Jordan’s Space show for 2024, Danielle, Paul and Steve chat with Mark about experiencing his first mental ‘blip’ in his 20’s whilst working as a graduate management trainee with Unilever.

Mark’s journey, is about much more than his own “Breakdown and Repair” (the main title of the first of 2 books he has authored), he also explains how, just as he was recovering from his own mental health ‘blip’, his 16 year old daughter developed a severe eating disorder which almost ended her life – for the next 6 years, the family had to divert their attention to saving Emily and ridding her of her new hanger-on, ‘Ana’ (Anorexia Nervosa).

This episode of Jordan’s Space will provide anyone who is struggling with any of the issues mentioned above with hope, as Mark explains how support from his family and colleagues, together with the right treatment, enabled him to recover from his own mental ill-health.

Links to Mark’s books:

Breakdown and Repair – A Father’s Tale of Stress and Success – buy on Amazon here

Beat Stress at Work – How to Balance Your Ambition with Your Anxiety – buy on Amazon here