Roman Kemp says his mental health struggles make him feel as if he's battling Mike Tyson 'in a boxing ring and not had one boxing lesson'.
The radio host, 28, appeared on Steph's Packed Lunch on Channel 4 on Wednesday to discuss the importance of talking about mental health in schools at an early age after experiencing his own difficulties and after losing his producer friend Joe Lyons to suicide in August 2020.
On his personal experiences, Roman explained: 'I’ve had a lot of troubles of my own, I’ve dealt with suicidal thoughts, I’ve been on anti-depressants for 15 years of my life.
Honest: Roman Kemp, 28, said on Steph's Packed Lunch on Wednesday that his mental health struggles feel as if he's battling Mike Tyson 'in a boxing ring and not had one boxing lesson'
'I feel that, sometimes, if my brain gets in a situation where it feels like it’s been beaten up by Mike Tyson, I feel like I’m in a boxing ring and not had one boxing lesson.'
Capital FM presenter Roman spoke about how Joe’s family have since set up the charity Joe’s Buddy Line to help provide mental health support in schools.
Insisting it is paramount to start discussing mental health from an early age, he said: 'Talking about mental health needs to start earlier than when we get to 16 and we’re doing PSHE.
Paramount: The Capital FM host discussed the importance of talking about mental health in schools at an early age after experiencing his own difficulties
'It has to be engrained into lessons and it has to be engrained into schools… as early as possible. Understanding that talking is something that can help us.'
He added: 'It’s about teaching kids and showing kids these are the tools you need so that when you come up against these demons, you’ll be able to knock them out the park, you’ll be able to deal with them, you’ll be able to talk about them.
'Unfortunately, when people reach the age of 16, particularly boys, they make a conscious decision of how much they’re going to let someone in.
