LIFE
I tried Bear Grylls’s mental health app for men. Did it work?
Could a daily ‘workout for the head’ save us from depression and stress? Simon Mills gives it a trial run
Simon Mills and Bear Grylls
KI PRICE FOR THE TIMES; PAUL GROVER/ALAMY
The Times
There are more than 20,000 wellness apps on the market, virtually none of them aimed specifically at men’s mental health. Which is odd because a) men much prefer the anonymity of screens to talking IRL to other men, and b) there’s a male mental health crisis raging, and men are doing next to nothing to help themselves to survive it.
About 115 people die by suicide in the UK every week, and 75 per cent of those are men … who are evidently not particularly good at discussing or sharing their problems. A recent study conducted by the Priory surveyed 1,000 men in the UK and found that despite 77 per cent of them having suffered from symptoms of anxiety, stress or depression, 40 per
