Tommy Hatto has opened up about his struggles with mental health on social media to encourage others to share their stories, or to seek the help they need to recover
Today is World Mental Health Day (October 10). Mind, the mental health charity, says it’s important to focus on mental health every day because of its profound impact on us. Someone who strongly believes that we should take mental health more seriously – even though society is moving in the right direction – is 30-year-old mental health campaigner Tommy Hatto.
Growing up in England as a “half-Thai British kid” came with its struggles, and as a result, Tommy suffered from an eating disorder. He told The Mirror: “I spent my teenage years constantly comparing my physique to my peers at school, or celebrities and models I saw on television or on social media, because I felt that’s what I needed to look like to get a girlfriend or even for people to like me.
“I was not popular at school, slightly overweight, and had never been in a relationship, so I thought I had to get in good shape to have all of those things.
“However, I didn’t know how to exercise or look after myself in the right way, and it led me to having bulimia at 16. It was this thing I couldn’t control; my relationship with food and exercise was incredibly unhealthy, and I kept it very secret from everyone around me, including my family, because of the stigma attached to a man having an eating disorder”.
Thankfully, Tommy was able to “get support and go on a recovery journey,” but his negative relationship with body image “didn’t end there”.
He continued: “As someone who spent many years self-loathing [and hating] the way I looked, I somehow signed with a modelling agency and went on to front campaigns for Calvin Klein, Rayban, and River Island. But I fell into a spiral of having muscle dysmorphia because I was now at the gold standard of what my body could look like.
“All those years as a teenager obsessing over having the perfect body, and I now had it. However, I wasn’t happy because I was always at the mercy of other people’s validation of me. I was over-exercising, but not for my own physical or mental health, but because I felt that’s what people wanted from me.
“I see it now with young people, especially young men, getting caught up in ‘gym culture’ and the pressures they face to look a certain way”.
When it comes to the UK’s attitude to mental health, Tommy says that we are “moving in the right direction”.
He said: “There is a shift in our culture and the way we view mental health, but we still aren’t there yet for it to be fully accepted within day-to-day society. I’ve lived and worked in different countries around the world where there has been no movement in how mental health is perceived, so for all the criticism we can make here, we are making small steps for it to just be part of how we holistically view wellbeing.
“Things like the changes to the Mental Health Act, and having organisations make mental health a priority in the workplace, do make a difference. Of course, there’s more than can be done at a systemic level, and a lot of that comes down to funding to make sure the correct provisions and pathways are in place”.
Tommy believes we need more “GPs and specialists to allow for people to be seen quicker, and get access to treatments and care quicker”.
He said it’s “not good enough” when you hear of people waiting “months” to “even get a referral”.
“That’s where the change needs to happen – to view mental health the same way as we view physical health. Having faster diagnosis doesn’t necessarily mean more financial burden on the government because sometimes, all somebody needs is to have that formal diagnosis so they can start putting the groundwork in themselves through lifestyle changes, exercise, etc.
“Other people may need more hands-on support, like counselling or medication. I think we also need to leverage AI capabilities and how we can get patients seen and diagnosed faster through technology,” he shared.
But Tommy said there is a “long way to go”.
“I hear about so many missteps and challenges people are facing in getting the help they need, and in some cases, it has led to the worst-case scenario. We need more investment in mental health and quicker access to diagnosis and care. I think we also need to make sure that’s equitable access for those communities where we do underserve, or they don’t have the means or support to get help,” he said.
When it comes to looking after our own mental health and putting ourselves first, Tommy said that he thinks “looking after your mind and body makes a huge difference”.
He said: “Eating the right foods and getting the correct nutrition, exercising in whatever enjoyable capacity that looks like, and focusing on improving your mindfulness does go a long way to putting yourself in the right frame of mind.
“It’s small things like just getting enough sleep each night, having a daily routine, and drinking enough water. If you fuel your body with everything right, surely that’s going to give you better mental clarity than if you didn’t, right?”
He said that when he started “sharing his journey on social media” it was “eye-opening” to realise how many people felt as though they were in the same boat.
Tommy explained: “I was unconsciously making others feel seen and allowed them to talk about their own experiences. Since then, I’ve worked with corporate organisations around the world to provide keynotes on my body image journey, or supported them in strengthening their wellbeing strategies and provisions for their employees.
“I’ve been lucky to speak on huge stages at conferences, to smaller stages at schools, about body image and eating disorders, to help amplify the importance of talking. In 2023, I published a report on body image and how young people in the UK and around the world feel about themselves and the pressures they face.
“It was a massive step-change in getting media and government to review real, tangible data. I now have a really healthy relationship with my own mental health and myself, through learning to accept myself and work on improving in all areas of my own wellbeing: exercise, diet, lifestyle.
“It was one of the reasons I undertook a certification to become a qualified nutritionist. I’ll post my food recipes, exercise regimes, and affirmations online, and I get so many people reach out to say I’ve inspired or helped them in some way.
“If you told me that I’d have half a million people follow me online and I’d win awards because of the work I do, I wouldn’t have believed you”.
Dealing with mental health is not one size fits all, and different things work for different people. If you’re struggling and need help with your mental health, make an appointment with your GP. If you want to talk to someone now, call the Samaritans on 116 123. In an emergency, dial 999.
