Rutherglen man urges others to break mental health silence after his 'huge relief' of opening up

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A Rutherglen man's journey to open up about his mental health diagnosis was the catalyst that spurred him on to urge others to do the same after hiding it.Before receiving an official diagnosis of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), a condition marked by compulsive thoughts and actions, Chik Duncan witnessed a gradual decline in his mental health.Chik noted that he "wasn't telling anybody anything" when he was initially diagnosed with OCD and he would just tell pals he "got held up" when he was late to occasions.The Lanarkshire Live app is available to download now.

Get all the news from your area – as well as features, entertainment, sport and the latest on Lanarkshire’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic – straight to your fingertips, 24/7.The free download features the latest breaking news and exclusive stories, and allows you to customise your page to the sections that matter most to you.Head to the App Store and never miss a beat in Lanarkshire - iOS - Android He said: “At the very beginning when I started to become unwell, it was quite gradual.

I certainly didn't understand what was happening to me. It wasn't so much that I was denying I was unwell or that I was telling anyone I was ‘fine’ – I just wasn't telling anybody anything.“I would be going out and about with friends, and quite often I would be late to things.

But I wouldn't give the real reason. I would say,: ‘I got held up’.”Chik, from Rutherglen, went on to explain it wasn’t until he had the help of friends and saw a psychologist that he opened up about his struggles and felt “such a huge relief”.He said: “I fairly quickly realised that being open about my mental health was so much easier than trying to hide it.