He adds: "Grief is with us for life. It’s never OK that person has died." But we can find ways to "organise" that grief in our minds. Suicide has not been a crime since the sixties and we aren’t supposed to be a society that criminalises people for being mentally ill. And yet those words are still used. No wonder there is so much stigma still attached to mental illness.” Children’s Mental Health Week couldn’t be a more important time to come together and help our youth improve their wellbeing. Health and happiness come from the cumulative effects of many small and positive daily changes to our lifestyle. It's about building sustainable and healthy habits - taking small and purposeful steps to a healthy future. By the end of the book I hope my readers have developed their own 'bespoke health toolkit' to be used across every aspect of their lives, and to make long-lasting and meaningful change." His appointment comes on top of the existing support government is providing to ensure children’s mental health is a priority – including the Wellbeing for Education Return project, which provides funding to councils so they can offer training and advice from mental health experts to schools and colleges on how best to support their pupils.

Live Well Every Day: THE NO.1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER (Dr Live Well Every Day: THE NO.1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER (Dr

In the last few years, there have been some significant highs and lows, but I do think what I’m grateful for is that in adversity, you learn a huge amount. I endured." Since he has started his mental health campaigning, he has received thousands of messages from people who he has helped, thanking him.On top of this there is the problem of, as he says, “How we build our boys.” In his book he reflects on how we are all born the same, but men are chiselled by ideas of what masculinity is. Heartbreakingly, George had been due to go home to Carmarthen, Wales, to see his family for the first time since the pandemic. "The week before my brother passed away, my best friend’s dad was terminally unwell and I stayed in London. In that time that I stayed, my brother passed away, so I could have seen him. I welcome the appointment of Dr Alex George as a Youth Mental Health Ambassador, and look forward working closely with him on this important issue. He’s thankful for the platform Love Island fame afforded. "Of course, if it wasn’t for that show, I wouldn’t have got that [money] for the kids." He started the #postyourpill campaign on social media – trying to banish the stigma around taking medication for mental health issues, like the anti-depressants he was prescribed last year. The last year has been unimaginably difficult for all of us, but particularly for young people who have sacrificed so much.

Alex George on grief, coping mechanisms, and going sober Dr Alex George on grief, coping mechanisms, and going sober

The book discusses the ‘mental health toolkit’ George developed while he was grieving and growing – "Not just as a tribute to Llŷr but as a tribute to the mental anguish I have faced in life, both before and since his death". It includes written exercises to help readers audit their feelings as well as ‘universal truths’ to cling to in dark times, like "sleep is a saviour" and "connection is your superpower". It’s made a really huge difference," George says. "I get to bed at 9pm every night, I wake up at 6am, I listen to music, I play music, I go to the gym, I spend quality time with a small number of people – I’ve developed really, really strong boundaries about how I spend my time and who I spend it with." (Andrew Burton/PA) History Makers: Female Writers Dominate the 2023 William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award Shortlist In 2018 George was a 27-year-old A&E houseman at Lewisham Hospital, on two months unpaid leave so he could take up a place as a contestant on a popular reality television show, ‘Love Island’. Among the perma-tanned Essex boys, with their acid white teeth, was this handsome young medic with a kind face, “our dreamboat doctor”, as the programme hype went. Set in a sun-drenched villa, the ‘work’ entails living in swimwear and going on dates to find a potential love match.Dr Alex is on a mission to empower us to make our own health choices, take positive control and feel equipped and inspired to make those small changes today that energise and future-proof for life. We discuss antidepressants, their efficacy and over-prescription. George is not against them. He says his #postyourpill campaign, which asks people to take a selfie with their medication, is anti-stigma and not pro-medication. But I think sometimes, it’s really, really important to remember that just because your identity is a part of your life, it doesn’t have to be your identity your whole life. Walking away or changing direction [doesn’t mean] that time of your life is now devalued. During some self-reflection when he was still working in A&E, George says he realised he wasn’t practising what he preached. "I thought, ‘I’m here talking about finding balance and looking after your own mental health, and I’m actually damaging my own mental health by doing too much."