"I lastly acquired to thank the guy who saved my life"

Laybourn, a personalized trainer, could bear in mind Benjamin very nicely, however. He had frequently wondered what had took place right after the youthful man, then just twenty, whom he had talked to and experimented with to hold calm till the police, known as by one more bystander, had bundled him into a car and taken him to hospital.

“But I by no means followed it up. I sort of considered the police would speak to me,” says Laybourn, now 31. “I had no notion what had took place to him. I wondered if he had received more than it, or regardless of whether he had gone back and that day had created no difference.”

And then, two weeks ago, Benjamin – with the help of the Rethink Mental Illness charity – launched a campaign to “Find Mike”, his nickname for the stranger. Undertaking so, he made the decision, would not only enable him to “close the door on that chapter of my life”, but also assist to produce far more interest in mental well being issues.

The campaign spread rapidly thanks to social media. Within two days, Laybourn’s fiancée saw the story on Facebook and instantly knew her partner was “Mike”.

A meeting was swiftly organized. Benjamin admits that he was “petrified” about the encounter, but Laybourn was excited. Their hug lasted for some time so, also, did the talking – in spite of meeting in a pub, the two never even got about to possessing a drink.

“I have believed about him a good deal for the final six years,” says Benjamin. “It was a pivotal minute in helping me to get better. I’ve often wanted to say ‘thank you’.”

For Laybourn, there was likewise a sense of resolution. “Watching Jonny get some closure was truly wonderful. Seeing him be ready to express his gratitude was the best issue. That was why I was there.”

He found, as well, that Benjamin is now an engaging and animated youthful guy who performs as a charity campaigner. Indeed, it is challenging to picture that he lives with a continual schizoaffective disorder, which indicates he is susceptible to deep depressions and paranoia. “I am in a very good spot,” Benjamin says. “I am able now to speak about this. It is a enormous situation: 16 individuals each and every day get their own lives. Suicide is the greatest killer amongst younger guys.”

His personal troubles leading up to his suicide attempt have been acute. He grew up in a middle-class Jewish home and had completed effectively at school. But from the age of 11 he began hearing voices in his head, which grew to become progressively sinister. Extra to this, he genuinely believed – after watching The Truman Demonstrate – that he was becoming filmed and monitored each minute of the day by hidden cameras.

Also ashamed to admit to the voices in his head, he was in no way effectively diagnosed until he was 20.

These days, a mixture of medication, bodily workout, cognitive treatment workouts and mindfulness – a technique focusing on residing in the present – helps him keep on prime of his issue, he says. “There are 1000′s of men and women going to work each and every day, getting working lives, with schizophrenia. You can have a typical existence.”

The Samaritans charity is nervous that his tale might glamorise Laybourn’s intervention most suicide attempts are not averted by guardian angels.

But Benjamin says: “I am not striving to romanticise this. I was quite fortunate an individual came along. The point is, there is usually assistance out there. Getting somebody ready to pay attention – in excess of the cellphone, by e-mail, or face-to-encounter – can make this kind of a variation.”

For his component, Laybourn says he had no alternative but to act. “I noticed him from far away on the bridge it clicked right away why he was there. I did not believe I would reach him very first, due to the fact a great deal of folks had been going by. No 1 stopped hardly any person looked. It was evident he essential assist.”

Both guys say they will keep in touch. “We truly received on,” says Benjamin. “We’re last but not least going to have that coffee.”

For more details on psychological well being, visit rethink.org or call 0300 5000 927 (Mon-Fri, 10am to 2pm)

"I lastly acquired to thank the guy who saved my life"