Talk About It Mate

WEEK 2: JUDGEMENT

We're back!

Begin again in 10 - a guided and supported pathway for wellness and resilience.

When Talk About It Mate came about, it had a mission. To make sure people never felt like they were alone and that there was the support they were looking for, that they needed right there and then.

The podcast episodes will focus on honest talk and validation on topics beginning with things such as Loneliness and Failure all the way through to Self-Compassion, Courage and Pride.

These topics were not chosen at random. They are carefully considered to mirror the journey that our founder, volunteers and members have been on towards wellness and recovery - a journey that never ends. This campaign seeks to give people hope in a practical, accessible way - no lofty concepts and out of reach achievements. All that's required is to show up.

WEEK 1: LONELINESS

Here it is!

Begin Again in 10 - a guided and supported pathway for wellness and resilience.

When Talk About It Mate came about, it had a mission. To make sure people never felt like they were alone and that there was the support they were looking for, that they needed right there and then.

The podcast episodes will focus on honest talk and validation on topics beginning with things such as Loneliness and Failure all the way through to Self-Compassion, Courage and Pride. 

These topics were not chosen at random. They are carefully considered to mirror the journey that our founder, volunteers and members have been on towards wellness and recovery - a journey that never ends. This campaign seeks to give people hope in a practical, accessible way - no lofty concepts and out of reach achievements. All that's required is to show up.

With Father's Day coming up this weekend, our guests for this episode were Kieran and Nick from Dad Matters. I was also joined by John and Ed from the Talk About It Mate community.

Dad Matters is a Home-Start Project, based in Greater Manchester. They aim to help dads have successful relationships with their families, and to support dads with anxiety, stress and mental health issues.

This was a really interesting and insightful episode. We learned so much from Kieran and Nick about what Dad Matters do and how lucky we are to have this in Greater Manchester. Let us know what you think!

https://dadmatters.org.uk/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB94in41rWboL3ejwRHo6DQ

https://www.instagram.com/dadmattersuk/

https://twitter.com/dadmattersuk

https://www.facebook.com/DadMattersUK/

Just a quick solo recording while walking! An update on my thoughts and how things are progressing.

I was joined by the amazing Sonja from Your Space Therapy for this must listen podcast with Mark Williams!

International Father's Mental Health Day founder Mark Williams is well-versed in all things mental health, through his experience of panic attacks, postnatal depression, ADHD, and a mental breakdown in 2011. Mark has also undertaken extensive training in the field in order to help others in the same position. He was awarded Inspirational Father of the Year, Regional Local Hero at the Pride of Britain Awards in 2012 and invited to meet the Royal Family in 2016. Mark is now a International keynote speaker, campaigner for all parents and has published many articles on father’s mental health. 

Watch this on YouTube to find out more about Mark's journey https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIUWWPIVyTM

Or visit his website here https://www.reachingoutpmh.co.uk/

For this episode I was joined by Karl, one of our facilitators and most passionate Talk About It Mate supporters to chat to Chris Judge, Founder of Directions4Men who are a fantastic organisation providing much needed men's groups. Chris has been a great help to myself and is passionate about creating a movement around men's mental health involving all groups and helping to redefine how masculinity is seen in society. This conversation really inspired and re-vitalised me and I think Chris has exactly the right knowledge, skills and values to make a significance difference to the lives of many men. Would highly recommend listening to this, then checking out all Directions4Men have to offer using the links below.

https://www.facebook.com/DirectionsForMen/

https://twitter.com/Directions4Men

For this podcast I was joined by Ed from the Talk About It Mate community to chat with Craig Henderson from Craig's Barber Shop in Bolton. Alongside being a lovely fella, Craig is a barber who is passionate about promoting positive Mental Health and signposting his clients should they need additional support. To help him do this he is a valued member of the Lion's Barber Collective who are training barbers with the skills to listen to and assist their clients to access support services if needed. Their aim is to reduce the suicide rates in men and you can find out more about them and their founder, Tom Chapman on their website. A fantastic listen!

https://www.craigsbarbershop.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/craigsbarbershopbl2/

https://www.instagram.com/craigsbarbershopbl2/

https://twitter.com/CraigBarbersBL2

https://www.thelionsbarbercollective.com/

On the back of recently launching our Talk About It Mate women's sessions (still working on a name) myself and my wife Laura (who is facilitating the women's group) sat down for a chat with the lovely Victoria Carroll, founder of Supporting Factors - to get some tips and find out about the work that she does. We really enjoyed this chat and learned a lot from Victoria and were blown away by her knowledge, passion and dedication for what she does. We learned about how her groups work, how she has adapted her services during lock-down as well as what she does for her own self-care.

This is a really good listen! You can find out more about Supporting Factors below:

Twitter - @Support_Factor : https://twitter.com/Support_Factor

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/supportingfactorscic/