JJ Chalmers: We shouldn’t be waiting for people to reach ‘crisis point’ before getting help

“If I’m being completely honest, here I am 13 years later and in a day-to-day sense, [2023] in particular, I would argue my mental health has been the worst it’s ever been,” says the Scotsman, 37.

“That might sound quite shocking. But I certainly feel like I’m most in need of looking after myself as I’ve ever been – mentally.

“What I’ve realised is that, in many ways, the issues [I’ve been facing] are not about what happened to me on the 27th of May 2011, when I got blown up. I’m quite OK with what happened that day,” adds Chalmers, who lives in the countryside with wife Kornelia Chitursko and their children Hayley, seven, and James, four.

“Actually, it’s what’s happened because of that, and some of the decisions I’ve made along the way, and the way I’ve lived my life because of that.”

Chalmers considers himself “extremely lucky”. Taking part in the inaugural Invictus Games in 2014 (he competed in trike cycling and took home three medals) was a “beacon of light” as he got to grips with living in his post-injuries body, and it’s what led him towards a career in TV (as well as an enduring friendship with Invictus royal founder the Duke of Sussex).

After telling his story and then landing a spot hosting the Games in 2016, opportunities tumbled in – he has since presented Paralympics coverage for Channel 4, appeared on series such as The Last Leg, and even made it to the quarter-finals on Strictly Come Dancing in 2020. Not to mention the work he’s done raising awareness of mental health support for veterans.

He has teamed up with Op COURAGE, NHS England’s mental health and wellbeing services for veterans and their families, as well as serving personnel due to leave the military, so could be of use to those at locations such as Catterick Garrison in North Yorkshire. While not new, the service has undergone updates in a bid to create more consistent standards of care and streamline signposting – making it easier for people to know where to turn, whatever help they may need.

“Because you need a little bit of everything sometimes,” says Chalmers. “That could be as simple as a cup of tea with a like-minded individual, or it could be sitting down with a professional.”

It could also be help with addiction, substance abuse and eating disorders, or relationships, employment and housing – people can be signposted via Op COURAGE to relevant charities and local organisations that can help with things like this, too.

Something else the telly personality is keen to highlight is that “we shouldn’t be waiting for people to get to crisis point before doing something”.

To find out more about Op COURAGE, visit nhs.uk/opcourage