A man who endured severe anxiety and depression has warned that NHS mental health services remain a generation behind physical healthcare, leaving many people without the support they need.

Ashley Riley, 53, shared his experience on World Mental Health Day 2025, observed globally under the theme “Access to Services – Mental Health in Catastrophes and Emergencies.” He said too many men, their families, and their communities are being destroyed through lack of suitable care.

The theme, set by the World Federation for Mental Health and endorsed by the World Health Organization, highlights the urgent need for equitable access to mental health support amid global crises such as displacement and conflict. More than 123 million people were forcibly displaced by the end of 2024. In the UK, the issue is reflected in post-pandemic strains and growing demand for anxiety and depression treatment.

A personal struggle

Two years ago, Ashley was a confident business owner when he began experiencing low mood and panic attacks. Within weeks, his symptoms escalated into debilitating anxiety and depression.

“After being given three different anti-depressants by my GP, each one making me more and more ill, I was basically left to it,” he said. “While in the middle of a panic attack in his surgery I had one GP shouting at me to calm down while another GP asked me outright what medication I wanted to try next.”

Unable to find adequate NHS support, Ashley borrowed money for 10 days of private psychiatric care. Soon after being discharged, he suffered a stroke while mowing his lawn and was discovered by his 11-year-old daughter.

“As soon as my stroke was diagnosed, I received up to three home visits every week for two months,” he recalled. “I was seen by some brilliant specialists, nurses, physios, and occupational therapists. You could not ask for more.”

He compared this to the treatment for his mental health struggles: “About 100,000 people in the UK suffer a stroke every year. One in eight men experience life changing depression or anxiety every year. Yet the treatment from the NHS could not be more different than for a stroke.”

Systemic disparity

Recent NHS data confirms this gap. In England, stroke admissions reached 111,137 in 2023/24, up 28% since 2004/05, with rapid response initiatives such as the Act FAST campaign improving outcomes. Meanwhile, mental health waiting lists continue to grow. As of December 2024, 16,522 people were waiting more than 18 months for treatment, compared with just 2,059 awaiting elective physical procedures like dermatology or orthopaedics, according to Rethink Mental Illness.

NHS England aims for 70% of community mental health referrals to receive help within four weeks by March 2025, but performance remains below target. For Talking Therapies, which target anxiety and depression affecting one in six adults weekly, 92.1% of referrals in early 2024 accessed services within six weeks, though recovery rates slipped to 49.9% in 2022/23, below the 50% target.

“My wife and I were simply left to it,” Ashley said. “At the worst of times, when we simply didn’t know what to do, we’d telephone 999 and be told to go to A&E. You’d wait for hours on end to be seen and then be given a cup of tea and a handout on breathing exercises.”

A call for change

Ashley, who now shares his story through talks and media appearances, said frontline staff are not to blame. “Despite the much-needed increase in mental health awareness there remains a deep chasm of care on Mental Health Day 2025,” he said. “Unless men are at the point of wanting to harm themselves or considering ending their life, they are simply being left to it.”

He added, “We know that 75% of UK suicides are men. That number will never change while the current provision of service remains.”

Official figures support his concern. In 2023, there were 7,055 suicides in the UK, with the highest rates among men aged 45 to 54 at 16 per 100,000 – the peak since 1999. Men accounted for around three-quarters of all suicide deaths. The 2023/24 Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey found that 16% of UK adults reported moderate to severe depressive symptoms in late 2022, compared with 10% before the pandemic, with 59% of moderate-to-severe cases linked to economic inactivity.

Campaigners including Rethink Mental Illness are urging the government to deliver on the long-promised principle of “parity of esteem” between mental and physical healthcare. They argue that community-based reforms could reduce waiting times and support economic recovery, as mental ill health costs the UK an estimated £300 billion each year in lost productivity.