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Hi everyone, I’m Dylan. I have an illness called bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder is a ‘severe mental illness’ which can have a drastic impact on somebody’s life. It is considered a disability because of this impact.

I am organising a challenge in May 2026 where I am aiming to raise money for ‘The Cornermen’ which is a mental health charity who support men with their mental health.

We are going to focus on carrying out as many reps as possible of 5 bodyweight exercises.

If you have the time, please see below some information about my story, mental health/mental illness and the support ‘The Cornermen’ provide. Then you might understand why I’m doing this challenge and why this topic is so important to me. Sorry that it’s a bit long winded so don’t worry if it’s too much to read.

My personal story

As I mentioned earlier, I live with a condition called bipolar disorder, I have had this condition for 6 years now and I will continue to live with it for the rest of my life.

For me bipolar disorder has completly ruined my life, multiples times since the year 2020 when I first developed it.

I have been receiving treatment for the last 6 years from both the NHS and privately. I feel that there is still a lot missing from the help that the NHS is able to provide. This leads people like myself, to seek help from various charitable organisations that support people with their mental health.

A few years ago my mum mentioned to me about a charity called ‘The Cornermen’ and also I randomly bumped into an old friend, who was a user of the charity and told me he really felt like it could help me.

For those who don’t know, ‘The Cornermen’ is a men’s mental health charity based at south Morton boxing club. The service provides a safe, non judgemental space where I am able to talk to the support worker - Steve, about my mental health or pretty much anything else that’s currently going on in my life. As the charity is based at South Moreton boxing club, there is also the facilities there to do some exercise, between sets or rounds chatting to Steve. This combination was something completly unique to me. It is well documented that there is a direct relation between exercise and mental wellbeing. The idea behind the name ‘The Cornermen’ is that in boxing, there is always a cornerman supporting the boxer and the charity believes that in life, everyone needs somebody in their corner. Everyone has something going on in their life, talking things out is such a great way of expressing and evaluating how you feel. Not everyone has a friend or a family member that they are able to talk to about how they are feeling, or they may simply not be comfortable enough to talk about certain things and that to me is why the service provided at ‘The Cornermen’ is so beneficial to the local community. I find that ‘The Cornermen’ provides the perfect balance between a talking space and a place to do exercise. I believe these two things are some of the most important aspects to maintaining good mental health.

I knew two people with similar mental health problems to myself, my uncle and my best friend. Unfortunately, last year they both passed away.

I personally feel that if better help was in place for people like us, there would be less tragedies like this. That is why I am so grateful for the support that ‘The Cornermen’ provides to help men struggling with their mental health.

‘The Cornermen’ is a charity that will support men with a number of problems, but they specialist in suicide prevention.

Statically speaking for people with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder

- 1 in 5 people with bipolar disorder commit suicide at some point in their life

- suicidal ideation is actually a symptom of the illness itself.

- It is estimated that up to 60% of people with bipolar disorder make at least 1 suicide attempt in their lifetime

- This means that up to 3 out of 5 people with the condition have had the intention to commit suicide and acted upon it

Statistically speaking for everyone regardless of a diagnosed condition or not

- 17 people a day commit suicide

- 75% of those 17 are men

- This mean that roughly 12 men a day commit suicide

- Suicide is the leading cause of death for men under 50

- 75% of men who commit suicide have never even engaged with mental health services

These numbers are way too high and it’s a compete failure of the healthcare system that this is happening. To me it’s so amazing to see that ‘The Cornermen’ are doing such positive work in aim to reduce these numbers.

Often men don’t feel able to admit to their loved ones that they are struggling with their mental health. It’s easy to think that you might be a burden or people might see you differently. Historically men have been told things like to ‘man up’ or bottle up their emotions. This is why I feel that charities like ‘The Cornermen’ are so important as they provide a safe space to talk.

For myself, having a mental health condition has definitely affected how some people see me or treat me. When I first got sick I was very poorly and it was very very public in my hometown. People who didn’t even know me anymore, weren’t my friends or in my life at all, had found out that I was ill and some had a lot of bad things to say.

A couple of quotes that people have said over the years

- ‘Dylan is tapped’

- ‘I’m surprised they even let dylan out the house

I am very open about my diagnosis and if somebody asks me any questions I will answer honestly. Some people think I am wrong for doing this as it will affect how I a treated in life. Isn’t that messed up?

I aim to educate people about the illness and raise awareness. I feel like a lot of people could learn from what I’ve been through. I hope that my honesty about what I go through, as well as things like this challenge, will make people think twice about how they treat somebody who is mentally ill or even just going through a hard time.

When somebody is mentally ill, I’d like to remind you that it is not their fault this is happening. Nobody chooses the cards they are dealt, physical illnesses are more easy to understand and relate to, but this doesn’t mean that mental illnesses are the fault of the person experiencing them.

It might not make sense when somebody is being completely out of character, they may even not be being nice to you at all. I can honestly say that when I’ve been mentally ill, I have not been very nice to certain people at all. A lot of people think this is because I chose to act like that, or that I am using my illness as an excuse. I have literally been so ill at times that I was medically diagnosed as ‘not having capacity’ which basically means I was unable to make a decision for myself. If I had lost the ability to make a decision, how can I chose how I was treating people at the time? I am truly sorry for anyone I have offended at these times, I honestly wasn’t able to understand what I was doing.