Coventry support group using sport to destigmatise men's mental health
This week marks Mental Health Awareness Week
A weekly support group in Coventry, Leamington Spa and Nuneaton is using sport to spark conversations around men's mental health.
MENtalk, co-ordinated by Sky Blues in the Community, offer sessions designed to bring men together to improve their wellbeing both physically and mentally.
The sessions are organised around physical activities such as football, basketball and other team sports to help spark conversations around mental health and combat isolation.
This week marks Mental Health Awareness week across the UK and this year specifically focuses on the aspect of community, which is at the heart of the MENtalk support group.
Mental Health Co-ordinator for Sky Blues in the Community, George Heaton, has been telling us more about the sessions.
George said: "There's no agenda to the sessions, it's about the key principles of well-being, which is to connect with others and to be active.
"It's called MENtalk but if you don't want to talk and just want to build that rapport through our shared activities that's fine.
"I spent 17 years on inpatient wards, so I'm on hand to give lads advice or chat about things that are going on.
"Some lads don't have people to talk to and normally I call myself no man's land, I'm not a family friend, I'm not a close friend or a relative but they can vent it all to me.
"If I feel like there's some advice that they would benefit from, then I would give it or if there's another service that I feel like it would benefit them, then I would refer you on to that while supporting you at weekly sessions."
George continued to say that there is still work to be done surrounding men's mental health but the visibility of mental health support in professional football is helping others to reach out.
George said: "Mental health has taken a step forward, I feel like it is a bit more acceptable now to be talking about these things.
"People are talking about it now, especially in football, and it's giving people that voice that allows them to know it's OK to reach out for support.
"Historically, we don't talk about our feelings, which is why people get involved in physical activities like sports to help create a conversation around our well-being."