Man creates online group to support men who deal with mental health issues

The group presents itself this way: “a group for MEN. We are here to support and encourage and help our fellow men. If you have had a struggle in life, if you have had or are having issues with addiction, we want you to talk to us. If you have lost someone you love, if you feel alone, if you are depressed or anxious we want to help. If you’re in debt or feel the world is caving in on you we want to help you.
As men, we often don't talk, we don't want to drop our guard and let people know our struggles and our fears or our secrets. We shut down, we close our emotions, we become selfish and distant, we slip more on the slope that we may only have had one foot on and then it consumes us.
I want us as a group to stop this cycle and to break the stigma and to make it ok to talk. To let our fellow men know we are here and that we are in this together!
I'm looking for people who will share their stories and experiences and give advice with us. Most importantly talk to each other or even privately just one of us, engage with someone and share your troubles and believe me, it will help”.

Craig realised that men often don’t talk about their feeling and emotions, and because of that, they can become suicidal, which was the case of some of his friends.

"I just came up with the idea one day - I've got a couple of close pals that had confided in me that they felt suicidal and one in particular really hit home because I could see that he was like a younger version of me. I was in his position 20 years ago - I had a cocaine addiction, I was lying to my missus about money... and he was doing the same. It spiralled from there; it got me thinking deeper. A lot of the problems men face come from the fact that they won't talk about their feelings so I created this group, just as a platform for men to speak."We had people posting about their depression, suffering from anxiety, feeling suicidal, people who had been abused as children”, the group founder explained.

After the first month, the group had about 4000 members.

The members met for a football match and now Craig hopes to raise money to get a space where men can pop in for a coffee and a chat.
The founder also plans to create a podcast. "We did a podcast for a local group recently. I think it's a really good platform to help spread our message and help remove some of the stigma”.

Adapted from: https://bit.ly/2WUF7Ze

More info: http://bit.do/e8bvD