Six years after he stood on the edge of London's Waterloo Bridge preparing to jump off, a man has been reunited with the stranger who talked him to safety with the promise: "It'll get better mate, you will get better."

Just over two weeks ago, Jonny Benjamin, 26, an ambassador for Rethink Mental Illness set out to find the stranger, whose name he could not even remember, in hope rather than expectation. But after TV, radio and newspaper interviews and a #FindMike campaign on Facebook and Twitter – backed by Stephen Fry, Boy George and even the deputy prime minister – Neil Laybourn, 31, from Surrey came forward and revealed that he was "Mike".

"It was incredible," said Benjamin. "I didn't expect to find him; it felt like looking for a needle in the haystack. I couldn't remember anything about him, I couldn't remember his name – Mike was a nickname I gave him."

On 14 January 2008, Benjamin was ready to kill himself. He had recently been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, which he said felt like a "life sentence", given negative media coverage of schizophrenia. "I was in my own world standing at the edge of the bridge, trying to find the right point to jump," he said.

"When he [Laybourn] came along it burst the bubble of that world I was in. I felt faith, like I could talk to him."

Benjamin said it was Laybourn's compassion and simple words – "It'll get better mate, you will get better" – that affected him. Laybourn asked Benjamin to step back and go for a coffee and a chat with him but when he eventually climbed down, police arrived.

Six years on, his health having improved, Benjamin hoped to find the kind stranger, thank him and show him how he had recovered. But he said he did not realistically expect to succeed and the #FindMike campaign was motivated more by his desire to highlight the issues of suicide and mental health.

Millions of people shared his story, which he publicised online with the help of Rethink Mental Illness. #FindMike trended on Twitter in the UK and as far afield as Canada, South Africa and Australia. He was stunned when Laybourn got in touch after the fitness trainer's girlfriend saw the appeal on Facebook and recognised the story.

Modestly dismissing Benjamin's description of him as a hero, Laybourn said it was just instinct to stop and try to talk him down. He said on that day in January 2008, he began asking Benjamin questions about himself and his situation and discovered they had grown up about 10 minutes from each other in Watford.

"Maybe it was fate, it was easy to make a connection," he recalled. "There are people who would walk past and there are those who would have taken action. I am proud that I was in the crowd that took action."

Laybourn said he had never forgotten about the incident, particularly as he still commutes to work over Waterloo Bridge. "It is something you would always think about but less frequently as time went on," he said.

He described their reunion on Tuesday, which began with a warm embrace, as "incredible" and said they are determined to stay in touch. "We're going to go for that coffee he promised me on the bridge," said Benjamin.

• For more information on mental health, visit rethink.org or call 0300 5000 927 (Mon-Fri, 10am to 2pm)