Assessment-5

man after mental health and fitness journey

This is Me!

Hi! I’m Jason. I live in Perth, Australia with my amazing wife and two children. I’m the brains (and maybe the brawn?) behind Mood & Muscle.
The idea for this site came from my personal journey with mental and physical health — and the realisation that the two are deeply connected. Like many men, I’ve struggled with depression for most of my adult life. But I didn’t fully understand how serious it was until everything became too much.
In October 2022, my world quietly fell apart. There was no major trauma or loss — just an overwhelming weight I could no longer carry. I broke down. I felt like a failure, like things would never change. One of the hardest moments was looking at my 10-month-old son and feeling too ashamed and afraid to hold his gaze. I believed he deserved a better dad.
Thankfully, I had the support of my wife and family — they kept me safe when I couldn’t do it alone.
I saw a doctor, started medication, and was referred to a psychologist. But after one session, it didn’t click, and I carried on. The meds helped, but they weren’t a complete solution. Eighteen months later, I found myself sinking again. The dark thoughts returned, and I knew I couldn’t keep going the same way. I owed it to my kids to try again.
This time, I saw a different psychologist with a different approach — and it worked. At the same time, I overhauled my physical health. I changed my diet, started training 3–4 times a week, and slowly began to feel like myself again. Over the next year, I lost 23kg and became the fittest I’ve ever been — mentally and physically.
Now, I’m continuing that journey. Still learning. Still finding balance in the chaos. And I built this site in the hope that sharing my story might help someone else do the same.
If I can connect with even one person through this, it’ll all be worth it.