Electrician to Keynote Speaker: The Moment Everything Changed

What Mental Health Really Looks Like in Construction

Two years ago, back in 2024, I was an electrician woking on the tools while managing my own business. Like many business owners I was trying my best to make it through each day but I was struggling, not in a way that people would have noticed and not in a way that would have raised alarm bells but in a quiet, internal way that felt as if I was carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders. On the outside, life probably looked sweet as. I was turning up to jobs, getting on with the work, doing what needed to be done and ticking all the boxes that come with working in construction from the outside, nothing looked out of place but inside my head it was a completely different story! There was pressure, constant overthinking, questioning everything, analysing situations that most people would move on from without a second thought. It felt like my mind didn’t switch off and no matter how normal things looked on the outside, that weight didn’t go anywhere and over time it became too much to handle and my mental health started to get worse and worse and worse. There’s a moment I always go back to because it sums up exactly where I was mentally at this time of my life.

Sitting on a Pile of Plaster Bags

I arrived at my newest project which was to carry out a full rewire of a two-bed house. It was the kind of job I had done plenty of times before, nothing new and nothing technically difficult, just another day onsite but this time I felt different. I walked in, looked around as I would normally do. You know…. plan the job, figure out how I’ll run my cables, where the fuseboard will go but instead of getting started, I sat down on a pile of plaster bags and stayed there, almost frozen. I couldn’t move. Physically, I was in that room but mentally I was somewhere else entirely. My mind was racing in every direction it could possibly go. I was questioning everything, my career, my direction, my purpose, whether I was even meant to be doing this anymore. It wasn’t one thought, it was hundreds, all happening at once, and none of them felt manageable.

That moment wasn’t loud or dramatic but it was heavy. It felt like everything that had been holding in and building up quietly over time had finally caught up with me. That’s the reality of mental health for a lot of people, especially in construction. It doesn’t always come from one big event. It builds slowly, layer by layer, until one day you realise something doesn’t feel right anymore. That’s where I was, trying to function on the outside while everything internally felt like it was falling apart and I was no longer in control.

From Site to Stage: A Shift I Never Saw Coming

Fast forward from that moment to standing in front of hundreds of construction students at New City College, speaking openly about mental health and it still doesn’t quite feel real. If you had told me back then, sitting on those plaster bags, that I would be standing on a stage speaking about my experiences, I wouldn’t have believed you. Not because I didn’t want it but because I couldn’t see a path from where I was to where I am now. At that point, I was just trying to get through the day.

The Doubt That Doesn’t Go Away

Before I walked out to speak, there was one question that kept repeating in my head. Am I good enough to do this? Not will they listen, not will it go well, just whether I was actually the right person to be standing there saying these things. Even after everything I had been through, even after years of my own therapy journey helping me understand my own mental health better, that doubt was still there. I think a lot of people know that feeling. That quiet voice that questions whether you belong in the position you’re stepping into or already in. It doesn’t matter how much progress you’ve made, that voice can still show up but I walked out anyway.

The Moment the Room Changed

At the beginning, the room felt exactly how you’d expect. A mix of curiosity, uncertainty and distraction. Some students were fully engaged, some were unsure, and some were probably just waiting to see what this was about. That’s pretty normal in any speech to any audience. You don’t walk into a room talking about mental health and expect everyone to instantly stop and connect. It takes time and these speeches were no different.

It wasn’t applause or a huge reaction like Tony Robbins would get. It was silence. A different kind of silence. The kind where you can feel people listening properly. No distractions, no background noise, no one looking around, just stillness…It was at that moment I realised this wasn’t just another speech. Something had landed, something had connected and this feeling felt bigger than me.

Speaking Honestly About Mental Health in Construction

The talk itself wasn’t built around statistics or corporate messaging. It wasn’t polished to perfection either. I was honest. I spoke about working in construction, the long hours, the pressure to keep going, and how easy it is for things to build up without you even realising it. I spoke about my own mental health, the moments where things didn’t feel manageable and the point where I realised I needed to do something different. I spoke about therapy, the fear around it, the stigma and what actually happens when you sit down and start talking about things you’ve kept to yourself for years.

I also spoke about ADHD and OCD from lived experience. What it feels like to have constant thoughts running, patterns repeating and the pressure that comes with trying to manage that while still functioning in everyday life. These are things a lot of people deal with quietly and when you hear someone else say it out loud, it can shift how you see your own experience and thats exactly what I could see that in the room. People weren’t just listening, they were relating and being seen.

“You Are the Future of Construction”

At one point, I said something that I didn’t expect to land the way it did. I said, “You are the future of construction. The culture you build will be the culture that people follow for years to come.” You could feel that settle. It wasn’t just something they heard, it was something they felt. It made them think about their role, not just in their career but in the wider industry. Whats incredible about young people in this day and age is they want there work and jobs to align with how they view the world and the positive impact they can add to it. Ultimately they are the future and they are changing the way the world works to fit the lifestyles they want to live, I say kudos to that. Its amazing seeing young people taking ownership of there future! 

The Real Impact Happened After the Talk

Going into the talk, I thought the hardest part would be speaking but I want to be dead honest with you here. It wasn’t. The hardest part came after my speech.

When the talk had finished, students started coming up to me. In small groups at first then one by one and these are the conversations that stayed with me and even gave me goosebumps.

What they shared wasn’t surface level. It was real. They spoke about anger and not knowing how to control it. They spoke about social pressure and trying to manage it. They asked about therapy, what it was like, whether it actually helped and whether I still go. They asked how I manage ADHD and OCD day to day.

Some of them shared personal experiences around suicide. Those moments were deep and heartfelt. There’s no other way to describe it. Hearing that level of honesty from people who had only just heard me speak was powerful but it was also a reminder of how much people are carrying without saying anything.

That was the hardest part of the day. Not standing on the stage, not delivering the talk but staying afterwards and listening. Properly listening to what people are going through.

Why Listening Matters More Than Speaking

That’s when it really hit me. Speaking is one thing but listening is where the real impact happens. Giving people space to talk, to open up, to feel like they’re not the only one, that’s what actually makes a difference. That’s what people remember.

The feedback afterwards reinforced that. Staff spoke about how engaged the students were, how many stayed behind to speak one on one and how much the message connected. Comments around it being one of the most impactful mental health sessions they had seen weren’t just nice to hear, they confirmed something important. This approach works, not because it’s polished or perfect but because my story is real, honest and relatable.

Mental Health in Construction Needs to Change

Construction is an industry that builds everything around us. Homes, schools, infrastructure, communities but behind all of that are people. People dealing with pressure, expectations, long hours, financial stress and often very little space to talk about what’s going on internally. That’s why this work matters. Not just because of one talk but because of what it represents. A shift in conversation and a shift in culture which is so very much needed. We sadly loose 2 construction workers a day in the UK alone to suicide. Its time we start talking more and building more awareness around supporting people, not shutting them down.

This Is Bigger Than One Talk

That day gave me something I didn’t fully have before. Clarity. It made me realise that this isn’t just something I want to do, it’s something I’m supposed to do. Seeing the impact, hearing the conversations and feeling that connection showed me there is a real need for this, not just in colleges but across the entire construction industry.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned through this journey, it’s that you don’t have to have everything figured out to make a difference. You don’t have to be perfect. You just have to be honest because honesty creates connection and connection is what creates change.

Bringing Real Conversations Into Your Organisation

If you’re a college, organisation or construction company looking to bring real, honest and impactful mental health conversations to your people, that’s exactly what I’m continuing to do. This is just the beginning.