A peer-support group in Salford is working to encourage men to discuss their mental health.
‘Talk about it mate’ was set up by Mike Richard, who after fighting his own struggles with mental health, did not want others to feel the same and decided to do something about it.
He said: “I started this support system because I had some bad experiences myself due my mental health.
“When I moved back to Manchester, I tried to look for help but couldn’t find any that I was looking for, so I decided to start my own support system and it just grew from there.”
The organisation offers many routes of support such as a face-to-face peer support group for men which runs on Mondays 9am-11am at Ordsall Community cafe and Tuesdays 1pm-3pm at Walkden Town Centre.
Discussing mental health is a very important subject as it allows people to share their problems instead of bottling up emotions which can cause negative effects.
Mr Richard said: “A lot of people have come out over the last few years because of the loneliness of the pandemic.
“A lot of men in the community have been stuck inside to themselves for years now because of the pandemic and this resulted in them feeling like they don’t matter.
“So, providing this space for men across Salford, really helps rally these men up, to help support each other. When a man opens up about their feelings it is massive, so having all these other men to relate to, is just a massive boost for one another.”
‘Talk about it mate’ takes away the taboo of discussing mental health issues within men and women and allows them a safe environment to discuss it in.
Talk to someone may be intimidating. So, Mike Richard has launched his own blog about the start of ‘Talk About It Mate.”
Mike had also launched his own podcast where he walks through the discussion to help ease people in to going out and speaking to others.
The podcast can be listened to here.
For any more information you can check out Talk About It Mate’s Instagram @talkaboutitmate or their website.
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