Lloyd's story

"It was an ambition of mine to work for an automotive company in the Midlands I had idolised since I was a teenager, and after years of waiting I had finally secured a job there. But to me it was more than a job, it was a dream come true.

"The job wasn’t located in a big city like any of my previous roles, but I didn’t really give much thought to the impact my surroundings could have. I was more focused on the excitement of starting my new job and finding somewhere to live close to my workplace.

"During my first month, I had starry eyes, amazed that I had made it to a place I held in such high regard. However, things started to change soon after. By the second month I was being asked to work longer hours and come in on weekends as the company was extremely busy and going through a lot of change, eventually developing into a situation where I rarely had a day to myself. There was no reward for these extra hours or days, and by the time I got home I was too exhausted to go out, meet people or even eat sometimes. At least twice a week I’d go to bed immediately after arriving home as I was just so tired. It definitely wasn’t what I had hoped for, and as time went on I started to have a feeling of dread every morning before heading to work and felt really down when I got home in the evening. It was horrible.

"As I moved to the area for the job, my friends and family lived quite far away, and that made a huge difference. No one wanted to visit me as I was living in the middle of nowhere, and I found when I wanted to talk to someone about the pressure from work and how isolated I felt, I didn’t have anyone around. As I was so busy I hadn’t made many friends where I lived either, so talking to someone outside of my close friends and family about my problems on the phone wasn’t even possible. After bottling things up and not talking I became really depressed, only leaving the house for work. Any time I had spare was spent in bed, isolated and feeling like no one cared. Despite going to work in an office with 40 people each day, I was so lonely.

"The situation carried on for over a year, and with no way of escaping the constant feeling of loneliness, I decided to resign and moved away. It took me a good few months to get over the experience and to regain my confidence.

"I eventually started to look for another job in the automotive industry, and found one I thrived at and rediscovered my passion. It was at my new company that I discovered Ben. I wish I’d known about them during the time that I was lonely and depressed, as the work they do in improving people’s lives is amazing. I now make sure I tell people about the charity and encourage anyone to get in touch if they are struggling.

"Life is so much better now. I love coming to work and I’m back living close to my friends and family. My experience was extremely difficult to deal with on my own, so if you’re experiencing loneliness I urge you to get in touch with Ben. Don’t suffer as long as I did."