Today is World Mental Health Day 2018. It's an often not talked about subject. There are some brilliant initiatives out there involving LFC and football than you can get involved with. Below is a list of some links to things that may be of some interest.

Jason McAteer: Through the Storm | Mental health in football and society

"Mental health is indiscriminate to whatever size house you live in, whatever car you drive, how much money you have in the bank, how many holidays you have.

"It is indiscriminate.

"It affects everybody in every walk of life. The ultimate message we are trying to put out there is be brave, talk to people and get help if you are in a difficult situation

Read his sky sports interview

Watch the documentary (~1hr)

Supporting Liverpool transformed this man's life

My anxieties extend beyond my self-image and generally being comfortable in my own skin. Growing up I was never the good-looking guy and I was always small for my age, so I had a really big personality to try and make up for it and was a class clown to cope with those feelings of inadequacy ...

Liverpool as a club has helped me from the ground up. I don’t think I’d be exaggerating when I say that Liverpool has given me a sense of purpose.

Read the full story

ManWell

Mike's Story

Freddy Adu, Cherno Samba, Taribo West. You name a Championship Manager/Football Manager wonderkid and I can guarantee I signed him. If I wasn’t kicking a ball about as a teenager I was glued to a computer screen racking up football management simulation hours; perfecting my latest formation, tweaking training programmes and scouting South American youth teams for talent to take to Premier League and European glory - it was, undoubtedly, a bit of an addiction.

Unfortunately it wasn’t the only addiction I was battling. As I struggled with my mental health in my teens and early 20s I developed an almost entirely unhealthy relationship with food. I played football and squash a couple of times a week, swam or hit the gym almost daily and cycled everywhere so the fact that my eating was so out of control went under the radar for a few years.

By the time I left Uni and started work I was putting away a mind boggling amount of calories a day and so when exercise started to drop down my list of priorities I started to pile on the pounds. By the time I was diagnosed with an eating disorder and started treatment at an ED clinic I weighed over 24 stone.

In September last year (weighing in at about 25 stone) I started to play football with MANWELL. I hadn’t played in years and, to be honest, I pushed myself too hard and picked up a couple of injuries in my very first game. I was gutted and just wanted to give up. But I found out quickly that MANWELL was about more than just playing football - I got messages from four or five of the lads encouraging me to stick at it and it gave me the courage to keep going.

Since then I’ve gone on to be discharged from the Eating Disorder clinic, taken the decision to undergo gastric sleeve surgery and lost over four and a half stone. But more importantly I’ve made a group of mates who have supported me through the entire process and now I’m part of the team developing MANWELL’s Weight Loss Football League.

I’m healthier, happier and more able to do the things I want to do, whether it’s playing football or running round after my kids and, perhaps most importantly of all, I’m finally getting to put all those years of Football Manager experience to practical use!

Heather's Story

I can't really put into words the impact that MANWELL has had on our family. I say family deliberately rather than just my husband because the ripple effect is very much obvious to everyone around us.

What started as a Sunday kick about with a few overweight lads has turned into an amazing and supportive group of friends with a passion for helping each other.

It's not just about weight loss or football. The support, the jokes, the banter, the sharing stories, the camaraderie is truly what is needed and severely lacking for men in the city and I just hope it ripples out to help more and change attitudes towards men's mental health & wellbeing.

Find out more

Chris Kirkland: ‘I didn’t want to wake up in the morning.'

“I couldn’t think properly. I couldn’t see a way of functioning. I didn’t want to get out of bed. I didn’t want to do the stuff that I’d always done. I just didn’t want to do anything. I wanted to shut myself off.”

...

Kirkland says that he would like to get into counselling to help those affected by mental health problems and there is no doubt that his own sessions with a woman in south Manchester – facilitated by Bennett and the PFA – have changed his life.

“She has worked wonders,” Kirkland says. “I saw her at least once a week at first and now, I’m at once every two or three weeks. She’s given me coping mechanisms, such as breathing techniques, because I struggle a lot with anxiety; I still do. It’s an ongoing process but I now know that I can and will get through it.”

Read the full story

Groundhopping gave me hope

One of things I’ve been doing to help my mental health is groundhopping – which means attending matches at as many different stadiums or grounds across the country. It has become an integral part in keeping my mind healthy.

I can let out my emotions for 90 minutes and leave any worries outside the ground.

I love discovering new places, so just being in another part of the world is often enough. However, attending a game adds extra cathartic release. I can let out my emotions for 90 minutes and leave any worries outside the ground. Plus, I'm amongst a group of people who I can sing along with and even jump all over when there's a goal.

Read the full story

Mental health battle being fought - thanks to football

Matthew, a 34-year-old, full-time dad from Dovecot said the idea behind the project arose from mental health issues he has experienced.

"I battle against depression, anxiety and insomnia and (Me)united helps me win these battles. It helps my mental health because it feels like I’m giving something back and that feels good.

"Every single person here is friendly, you won’t be shouted at, there’s no negative scrutiny, you definitely don’t have to be good at football!

"It’s all about promoting your mental wellbeing. If you want to take part in feel good football, get involved.

Read the full article

Useful links

• How to access mental health services
• Mind and Football Partnership
• World Mental Health Day on twitter
• 10 Simple ways to look after your mental health
• ManWell
• (Me)United

It's Ok to not be Ok.