BBC
Jamie Dewar spent more than 20 years in London before moving to the island
Moving to the Isle of Man from London has helped a man work through significant mental health challenges, with the help of a local support group.
Jamie Dewar, originally from Fife in Scotland, lived in London for 23 years before coming to Manx shores a year ago.
The 60-year-old said he had suffered with depression and anxiety “for decades” and in the past had self medicated with drugs and alcohol.
But he said the island’s scenery and pace had helped him, alongside the charity Ed Space, as he no longer felt as “insignificant” as he did in “a big city with a million people around”.
He said: “The endorphins from fresh air and nature, you can’t go anywhere better than be here and just get outside.”
“As an island, you appreciate, you feel part of something,” he said, adding: “Everyone is just in a rush in London.”
‘I’m not alone’
Three months ago Mr Dewar joined Ed’s Man Club, run by the charity Ed Space, which provides confidential weekly meetings for men of all ages to talk and share their experiences.
He said the meet ups had become invaluable, and offered him “relief and comfort”.
“I’m not alone in my struggles, loads of people are struggling and in a way that helps, it makes you realise that your problems are beatable,” he said.
Shirley Cain co-founded Ed’s Space in memory of her brother Ed Joyce, who took his own life last year at the age of 50.
Ms Cain said: “We don’t want families to go through what we’ve gone through.
Shirley Cain co-founded Ed Space after losing her brother to suicide
The organisation was based on UK suicide prevention charity Andy’s Man Club.
“We have to start talking,” she said, “we’ve got a huge huge problem here with mental health and the suicide rate is unacceptable.”
The latest figures from the Isle of Man Constabulary show that since 2019 there have been 75 deaths by suicide on the island – 55 of them men.
Since Ed’s Man Club started 10 months ago, more than 570 men have walked through the doors.
Ms Cain said: “It’s heartbreaking the stories that we hear, that people are reaching out for help and they’re not getting the help they need.”
She implored anyone going through a difficult time to “talk to somebody”.
The peer support circles were full of “lived experience” and “there’s nothing better than that”, she added.