Scots dad who tried to take own life saved by brave wife giving CPR

,A Scots dad has opened up on his mental health journey after he was rescued from a suicide attempt by his family.

Scott Wylie, 33, said he "spiralled" after the death of his nephew - who was just four and a half months old. He ended up in a "really dark place", with his wife and auntie finding him in his Tranent home and performing lifesaving CPR until emergency services arrived.

The plasterer, who runs a company named Fat Boy Skim, said it wasn't until a doctor posed a question about how he would feel if his son were in his shoes that his thinking "shifted". Now, he's created a weekly meet-up - that shares its name with his company - for men in the area to talk about what's going on, free of alcohol and judgement, reports Edinburgh Live.

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Scott said: "I lost my nephew when he was four and a half months.

"After that, I kind of spiralled out of control and eventually attempted suicide. My wife and auntie found me.

"My auntie came to visit and the front door must have been unlocked, so she came in and came upstairs. I can't quite remember any of this, I've just heard it from other people.

"My wife then gave me CPR until the police came. I always said once I felt better than I would never want anybody to be in my shoes, it's not nice. I wanted to use my experience to help other people."

He was in a dark place for around two years before his suicide attempt. He continued: "What used to infuriate me is when people would tell me 'don't be so selfish you've got a son'.

"I ride motorbikes, so I see it like this - when you're on a motorbike it's just tunnel vision. When I was in my darkest places it was tunnel vision as well, you don't think of anything.

"I just remember thinking, I want to die and that's it."

Something his doctor said helped Scott to finally get out of the dark period.

He told us: "My doctor said to me 'what about this - your son is 16-years-old, doing his exams, he's getting bullied'.

"He said if my son was getting bullied, and I had killed myself, he might think 'well my dad's answer was suicide'. It put everything into perspective.

"I would hate for my son to be where I was. It made me change my thinking completely and find a different path."

Scott believes some men opening up after a pint or two, might not be the healthiest coping mechanism.

He said: "I don't drink now, for good reason. It's all well and good at the time. A lot of guys open up after a few drinks, but it comes back to bite you the next day.

"It's never good. That's why we have the room at East Lothian Volunteer Group, I was thinking of doing it at Tranent Rugby Club but then that's giving people a chance for a pint.

"Here, it's a cup of tea or coffee."

The group will offer the chance for men to get together and chat weekly, something Scott understands can be difficult. He continued: "It's a bit like Andy's Man Club. It's a drop in, every Tuesday. In Tranent there's not really anywhere to go.

"It's for guys who are needing a wee chat. I hope they come, and have a safe place to talk about things they can't talk about to their friends or partners or family.

"You know what it's like with guys, they find it hard to talk. If I had something like this maybe I wouldn't have ended up doing what I did. I would've opened up more.

"It's a place for people to feel safe that nobody is judging them. Even if it's just how their weeks been."

He added: "It's free for anyone over 16, the only price to pay is getting over that first barrier to actually come through the door. That's the hardest bit."

The Fat Boy Skim drop-in will take place every week from September 24 at 7pm, at the Volunteer Centre in Tranent.

Samaritans are also available to call 24 hours a day on 116 123. You can also find help on their website here.

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