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Hello again everyone hope you are all well! If you are new here I’m Rob. I’ve been a bricklayer for 20 years and now I run a podcast about mental health in the construction industry called The MYHPodcast. (you can find it on all major podcast platforms )
It’s been a few weeks since my last blog and a lot has happened. I guess the biggest news is I have left my job and I’m doing this full time now! It seems to be going well so far. This week was especially good as I was invited down to Construction Week UK at the NEC in Birmingham to get up on stage and talk about the work I’m up to and how we can all help each other with our MH.
I loved it by the way and I was blown away by the response I got from the audience which leads me nicely on to my next bit of news……………………
I’ve just been dropped off at Macclesfield train station and as I was saying my goodbyes to Lou and the boys when it suddenly dawned on me, I’m going to London to start a week of filming and touring the country.
I said to Lou can you believe that it’s not even been a year since the first pod had been released, I have left my job, I’m doing this full time and I’m going on a tour of the UK to talk about mental health in construction along with all things bricks.
Talk about mind blown!
It wasn’t that long ago that Lou was leaving me and I didn’t know when she would be coming back, if at all! That was 3 years ago I had just finished two of the worst jobs I had ever done. I had a great group of lads working with me on those jobs, but the clients were not so great. I had been stressed more than normal for nearly a year and it started to show. This was around the time of the birth of our second child (Ben). I was still struggling to cope with how life had changed when Seb was born 2 years before then another baby thrown into the mix along with doing 2 very difficult jobs back to back that were a long way from home that required a lot of traveling (it was a recipe for disaster.)
It got so bad that I couldn’t cope with the simplest of things. I remember on the second job, It was a refurbishment of a big retail park near Chester. I had 3 bricklayers and a forklift driver to look after and I asked my contracts manager for a labourer, and he flipped his lid at me. I said I will talk to him later as he must be in a bad mood but he told me no you just need to pull your finger out and get on with it as well as some more choice words. When I put the phone down the pressure I felt was that great I didn’t know what to do so I went to van to get away from everyone and I sat there and cried for about 20 mins.
When I used to have days like that, I just wanted to be on my own so I didn’t have to talk to anyone or deal with anything. It took another 6 months for me to completely break and blow my top, and that was the breaking point for Lou as well. She moved out with the boys and went back to her parents’ house. I could see the boys whenever I wanted but she made it clear things had to change.
I’ve been busy on the building side of things as well lately. I have just finished a small single-story extension, replaced a damaged stone lintel and a few other small jobs. I’m also about to pour the final concrete slab at my house so I can start to build the main structure of the extension. It’s been a very hard dig at my house. It’s a hill side dig out and to date I have dug out 950 ton of stone! I’m hoping by the time I’m writing the next blog I should have the first lift done. It’s really hard to find the time to work on your own house when you are so busy on other peoples.
So what have you got coming up on The MYH Podcast next I hear you ask
Well…………………………….
Thanks for asking, let me tell you what treats we have coming up for you.
By the time you are reading this we will have released episode 11 with Manchester Mind who I do volunteering work with. Tom (the not so silent producer) and I sat down with the wonderful folk at Manchester Mind back in May. They tell us about all the great work they get up to and much more. It’s also our birthday next month. We will be 1!! So much has happened in the past year I have loved every minute of it and can’t wait to see what the next 12 months have install for The MYH Podcast. We will be recording a special birthday episode of The MYH Podcast and we would love it if you got involved. So, if you have any questions about anything to do with the podcast and what we get up to please let us know (slide into our DM’s )
Thanks again to Ash for letting us be involved with the great work he does and putting The MYH logo on the new 3.0 BSC T-Shirts. It really does mean a lot to me and thank you for all your support as well. It would be amazing if you could give the podcast a listen and also subscribe and leave a review, it really does help us build awareness. Oh one last thing it would be mega if you could share the podcast too! Listen to the podcast here
I have put a few useful links and phone numbers below that can help you, if you ever feel like I did a few years ago or if you just need a little support. They are there to help you.
It’s only like asking someone to help you load out or if you didn’t understand a drawing and you ask someone to run through it with you. They can support and explain things to you, so you don’t have to try and figure it out on your own.
Be kind, look after yourself and speak soon
Thanks Rob
Listen to The MYHPodcast here https://linktr.ee/Themindyourheadpod
The Construction Industry Helpline 0345 605 1956
Hopeline 0800 068 41 41
Pat@papyrus-uk.org
Good read and great pod cast. Alot of people don't understand the pressure others put on you. Just to get something completed