Block NZ star tells of losing police job

Former officer struggled on mean streets, writes Jack van Beynen and Erin Speedy.

A contestant on The Block NZ: Villa Wars tried to kill himself after fighting a battle with depression.

Hayden Campbell revealed his struggle with the black dog cost him his dream job with the police, and nearly cost him his life.

He hopes speaking out about his experience with mental illness will encourage others to seek help.

‘‘My journey was long and hard because I dealt with it on my own.

Now a law student, Campbell, 29, traces his depression back to his father’s death in 2001, when he was 15.

He joined the police in 2006, and says being an officer was ‘‘the best job in the world’’. But fighting crime on the streets of Auckland took a toll on his mental health.

‘‘You get exposed to a lot of the worst the world has to offer and, being quite a macho environment, it is quite hard to reach out and ask for help.’’

Campbell did not ask for help until 2011, when he resigned from the police on medical grounds after he tried to take his own life. He says the police offered him ‘‘unlimited support’’ during that trying time.

‘‘I took my career in the police very seriously and it was a shame that it came to an end the way it did,’’ Campbell says.

He said the key to recovery had been surrounding himself with mentally healthy people who cared about him.

One of those people was his now-fiancee Jamie Johns, whom he met four years ago.

The couple competed as a team this year to renovate a villa on The Block NZ: Villa Wars.

He says they competed in The Block as a ‘‘social statement’’ about expressing individuality, and following their own tastes when it came to interior design.

It was a policy that paid off when they made a profit of $160,000 selling their villa at auction.

He says their experience on The Block was also a way to thank those who had supported him, most notably his grandfather, who passed away during the show.

After his father died, his grandfather was his ‘‘rock’’.

Campbell feels good about his future. His depression has not defined him, but it has made him stronger.

‘‘It’s not all black,’’ he says.