E78: Chris Jones - One Man, 6,500 Miles, And The Courage To Talk About Suicide, Purpose, And Recovery
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A trophy on the table can’t soften the moment Chris admits he once sat under a tree with a rope. What follows is a frank, energising journey from lost purpose to a coastline walk that rebuilt his mind, his daily habits, and his mission to help other men speak before they break. We talk about how policy changes and a forced sale stripped meaning from two decades of work with excluded teens, how lockdown isolation compounded the fallout, and how phone-based counselling from the Masonic Charitable Foundation handed him tools for rumination, grounding, and mindful attention that actually stuck.
Then the choice that changed everything: a 6,500-mile walk around Great Britain. No deadlines. No fixed plan. Just the sea to the right, a tent on his back, and long winter nights to read and listen. Chris shares the practical wins: breath work from James Nestor’s Breath, insights from The Body Keeps the Score and Lost Connections, and the way nature lowers cortisol and reframes problems. He’s honest about the lows—soaked gear, short light, and the crash after company—but the highlight is people. Strangers fed him, housed him, and shared hidden stories of suicide and survival that rarely surface until stigma drops.
We dig into simple tools for men’s mental health that don’t require a diagnosis: nasal breathing and longer exhales to downshift the nervous system, micro-mindfulness to halt spirals, movement as a pressure release, and the habit of naming what you feel. Chris also raised over £90,000 for the Masonic Charitable Foundation, found a new voice as a speaker, and is writing a book to translate dense psychology into clear, usable steps for guys who think they’re fine—until they’re not.
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Chapters
1. Award Win And Milestones (00:00:00)
2. Meet Chris Jones (00:01:50)
3. Losing Purpose In Lockdown (00:03:00)
4. Hitting Rock Bottom And Finding Help (00:05:30)
5. Why A Long Walk Became The Reset (00:08:30)
6. Planning The Coastline Challenge (00:11:00)
7. Mindfulness, Books, And Breathing (00:13:30)
8. Life Alone: Weather, Terrain, Unknowns (00:16:30)
9. People’s Kindness And Hard Stories (00:19:00)
10. Normalizing Men’s Mental Health (00:22:00)
11. Charity, Freemasonry, And Fundraising (00:25:30)
12. Talks, A New Purpose, And A Book (00:28:00)
13. Lessons, Intrusive Thoughts, Tools (00:30:00)
14. Coming Home And What Changed (00:33:00)
15. Closing Thanks And How To Support (00:35:00)
79 episodes