Hailing from the Border region, Andrew Lawes is a 35 year old writer renowned for his openness and compassion. Lawes started publishing his writing in 2012, due to a combination of realising his mental health issues were escalating and immense frustration with the lack of support available for the mentally unwell. Lawes' story of fighting depression received acclaim from both sides of the Atlantic, notably from Jonathan Davis of Korn who remarked, "bless you for giving people hope," and from Duff McKagan of Guns 'N' Roses, who thanked Lawes for his courage in his article 'Depression Ain't No Joke.' Lawes' next article, 'Loving Someone With Depression,' was written in response to a lack of support and advice for the loved ones of people suffering from what Lawes coined 'the cancer of the soul.' Republished on several mental health websites and, most notably, the Good Men Project, this essay steeped in empathy and compassion received in excess of 300,000 views, and remains Lawes' most popular piece of writing. Lawes' later essays on male suicide and self-harm, while not reaching the popularity levels of his depression writing, played a crucial role in opening the doors for other men to rise above the stigma and discuss their own struggles.
Despite his writing on mental health issues helping so many people, Lawes continued to struggle with his own state of mind, and found the success of his writing created a pressure he was ill-equipped to handle. A death of a loved one and the loss of his dream job in controversial circumstances, within weeks of each other, left Lawes unemployed yet seemingly with an ability to voice the things others felt unable to verbalise. Fuelled by grief and desperation, Lawes made a decision to ignore his own need for recovery and instead push himself to the brink of insanity, in the hope that, should he survive, he would be able to tell his story and help those suffering from the farthest extremes of mental illness. This process ended with Lawes being sectioned in 2015, with the official diagnosis being psychosis induced at his own hand. After being released from the hospital a week later, Lawes embarked on the long process of rebuilding both his mental health and his life.
After taking the time to repair his mind and reinforce his own mental wellness, Lawes is now able to fulfil his mission. In addition to his university studies, Lawes occasionally shares essays about mental health, life and the world on his website, what he calls his Disorderly Thoughts. His weekly column about his travails in Fantasy Premier League, the FPL Nightmare, has developed into Lawes’ first published book, ‘The FPL Nightmare: How to Lose the World’s Greatest Mini-League in 38 Simple Steps.’ Lawes is also working on the book about mental health that he drove himself to insanity to research. At eight years in the making following a lifetime of struggle, it promises to be the defining insight into what drives someone to madness, and how it is possible to make it back from the brink.
Despite his writing on mental health issues helping so many people, Lawes continued to struggle with his own state of mind, and found the success of his writing created a pressure he was ill-equipped to handle. A death of a loved one and the loss of his dream job in controversial circumstances, within weeks of each other, left Lawes unemployed yet seemingly with an ability to voice the things others felt unable to verbalise. Fuelled by grief and desperation, Lawes made a decision to ignore his own need for recovery and instead push himself to the brink of insanity, in the hope that, should he survive, he would be able to tell his story and help those suffering from the farthest extremes of mental illness. This process ended with Lawes being sectioned in 2015, with the official diagnosis being psychosis induced at his own hand. After being released from the hospital a week later, Lawes embarked on the long process of rebuilding both his mental health and his life.
After taking the time to repair his mind and reinforce his own mental wellness, Lawes is now able to fulfil his mission. In addition to his university studies, Lawes occasionally shares essays about mental health, life and the world on his website, what he calls his Disorderly Thoughts. His weekly column about his travails in Fantasy Premier League, the FPL Nightmare, has developed into Lawes’ first published book, ‘The FPL Nightmare: How to Lose the World’s Greatest Mini-League in 38 Simple Steps.’ Lawes is also working on the book about mental health that he drove himself to insanity to research. At eight years in the making following a lifetime of struggle, it promises to be the defining insight into what drives someone to madness, and how it is possible to make it back from the brink.
