A haircut changed the life and mental health of former army man Colin Craig from Perthshire.
The 34-year-old from Blairgowrie struggled after he left the services. He had developed PTSD, was living with trauma and at a very low point.
But it was a trip to the hairdresser that led him to the support he badly needed.
Colin says meeting Jackie Lyon, founder of the Stephen Lyon Organisation, based in Kinross, has been ‘totally life-changing’.
Jackie set up the organisation after losing son Stephen to suicide in 2020.
Here, Colin and Jackie explain how they hope their stories will help others see a brighter future.
Colin says when he left the Army in 2009, he contacted various agencies, but didn’t fit their criteria for help.
“When you’re in the army, you only know how to kill.
“But army life had also become my safe space and my comfort zone, so everything went wrong when I left.
“It was like opening a can of worms. I lost friends, I lost so much.
“It got to the stage I needed support and I needed it quickly.”
The haircut that changed Colin’s life
“It was going for a haircut, of all things, that changed my life.
“When we were talking, the hairdresser recommended the Stephen Lyon Organisation (SLO).”
Colin made contact and has been working closely with Jackie Lyon, for a year and a half.
“Meeting Jackie has been totally life-changing.
“She’s taught me strategies to get me in a better place, she’s pushed me on through anger, stress, despair, the lot.”
“It’s getting me to the point where I can deal with these struggles,” Colin continues.
“She’s sat by my side, supporting me 100% through whatever I needed.
“She has been on the end of a phone when things were really tough.
“As well as the one-to-one sessions, I’m also part of a small group where we can all be honest and not judged.”
“Jackie encourages us out on walks and activities, which were terrifying at the start as everything felt like it was going past me too fast, and it was easier to stay at home.
“But Jackie’s support has been at my own pace, which is important.
“She won’t turn me away and will be there for me for as long as I need support.
“I’m starting to process things and can see a path ahead.”
‘I see the light and a future’
Colin is giving a talk at the upcoming Perth and Kinross Mental Health and Wellbeing festival.
It’s a free event at Perth Concert Hall on August 6 and 7, organised by local charity Trauma Healing Together.
“Because I’m learning ways to push through it, I can now see you have to put the effort in yourself, the grit,” Colin continues.
“I felt like I was in a dark tunnel but now I can see the light and a future.”
He hopes others will take inspiration from his story too.
“I want to tell others you can get through it. It can pass if you get the right help and believe in yourself.
“I’m proof that support does exist and things can get better.”
‘One life saved’
Jackie says: “While Colin is such a pleasure to be around, his story is sad.
“But his resilience and strength shines through.
“He is determined to take back control of his life.
“It is such a blessing that Colin had allowed me to part of his journey and trusts me to support him with some of the most intimidate and personal difficulties he want to address.”
Jackie set up the Stephen Lyon Organisation with strong support from family, friends and the local community in September 2020.
She was inspired to help others when her son Stephen died by suicide in June 2020.
“He had only had his 21st birthday in the April,” she explains.
“We set up the charity with the thought ‘if we only help one family, then that is one life saved’.
‘I can no longer reach my son’
“But in the first few weeks we had five people reaching out for help.
“Although five does not seem a lot, if you look at the geographical area and population of Kinross it is a lot and five too many.
“By December we had nearly double that number.”
They now cover the surrounding areas including Kelty, Dollar and Tillicoultry.
“I can no longer reach my son but by helping and reaching out to others, I hope to make a difference.
“I hope my work will go some way to preventing another losing their life or family having to grieve.”
Conversation