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9th November 2016
11:51am GMT
I put it to Jonny that sometimes you are aware that your mate isn't in a good place, and that he needs to talk to someone, but there can be a sense that you don't know what to say, and don't feel qualified to advise them. Jonny explains that you don't need to be there to fully understand - just being there is enough.
"If someone needs specialist long-term support, then of course they should seek professional help, but if they are suffering in a crisis, or even feeling suicidal, anyone can help them through it. It's just about showing genuine support and kindness - anyone can do that, it's just being human.
"When I was suicidal, it was a complete stranger that brought me out of it. He wasn't trained, he wasn't a professional; he just showed me a lot of compassion and empathy. He was just there for me - even though I didn't even know him. He was just being a fellow human-being. It was he rather than any specialist who managed to talk me out of it. Anyone can do that.
"I don't think there's a wrong way of helping - as long as you show that you care. You don't have to necessarily understand what's going on in that person's head - you can just listen and be kind. It's within us all."
As you can probably tell, Jonny is deeply passionate about people receiving help when they need it the most. He works tirelessly as a mental health and suicide prevention campaigner, and hopes that his experiences can help others to understand what depression is and how to cope with it.
"It's different for different people. In my case, it was more about learning to cope with my feelings. I still struggle - I've been in that place since and felt suicidal again since that day on the bridge, but it's about learning to cope, and learning to talk about it.
"Some people may go through a single bout of depression or feeling suicidal and that's it, which is fine. But for others like myself, it is something you learn to live with. It nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed about - that can stop people from opening up. I think if you know you've overcome something once, you know you can do it again - even though it's hard."
Jonny explains that men face specific social barriers to conform to an accepted idea of masculinity, which involved ignoring your problems, not talking about them - and to use a misnomer - be 'strong' about it all.
"We use the term 'man up and get on with it', but no one tells women to just 'woman up'. For men, it's like we're not allowed to be vulnerable or show emotion - we just have to get on with things. Society almost expects women to be more vulnerable and emotional than men, and that's a huge issue.
"Just look at the suicide rates in men - it hasn't changed in 30 years, whereas for women the suicide rate has halved in the same period. It's because of the perception of macho behaviour that he have in society, and that needs to change. Until it does, the suicide rate amongst men is going to stay the same."
Because of Jonny's prominent role in promoting mental health awareness, and due to his incredible honesty about his own experiences, he does tend to get people contacting him at desperate moments in their lives for help and guidance. I suggest that this must be something of a heavy responsibility to bear, especially when people's lives are on the line.
"It has got tough at some points," he admits. "There was a guy in Manhattan a couple of years ago, who contacted me and said 'I'm about to jump out of my apartment window. Here's my cell phone number, can you call me?' That was really hard. That was probably the most difficult message that I've ever received to be honest."
But again, he explains that even in cases of people reaching out to him, there is a worrying bias towards women seeking help on behalf of others, rather than men themselves.
"Do you know what I get a lot? I get women messaging me to say that their son, or husband, or boyfriend, or dad won't talk and asking me what to do. I do get messages from men, but it's more a case of women asking for help because the men that they care for and love will not, and that's so sad.
"If someone isn't ready to talk, it's really hard. But again, it is all related to social stigma. The stigma of mental health that we really need to get rid of for good."
Jonny feels that this warped idea of masculinity could be in some way addressed by male role-models and celebrities talking openly about their mental health problems and issues with stress.
"We need people like footballers and men in the public eye to come out and say: 'I struggle when I'm vulnerable at times. I don't always feel strong', instead of this macho attitude that isn't helpful. More and more men are talking about these things and that's great, but not enough.
"It's important to understand that you can be strong, but you can also be vulnerable at the same time - and that's okay. There's actually been a few rugby players who have come out and said 'I struggle and I'm vulnerable', and that's amazing because you get these huge macho figures who are physically so strong and yet show that they can be vulnerable - and that's a form of strength too."
Of course when sportsmen do open up about their mental health, much depends on how it is received by the media and general public. Talk turns to England batsman Jonathan Trott, and how his admissions of serious depression were reported at the time.
"Some of the papers were like: 'You can't blame your poor performance on stress or your mental health, that's just an excuse'. It really annoyed me. It's so unfair to blame someone just because they are having a hard time and suffering from depression. If he was suffering from a physical ailment, they wouldn't dare say just carry on.
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