Communicate About It Mate is among the unique psychological well being strengthen teams that has hyperlinks with the MAN v FAT neighborhood. 

Mike Richard tells us all about it!

What do you do at Communicate About It Mate?
We concentrate on growing areas for other people to glue in as we consider within the energy of other people serving to other people. Our paintings has advanced over the last 5 years from informal meetups and occasions in Manchester to extra organised peer strengthen areas which we had been in a position to transport on-line throughout the pandemic.

Along those, we had been in a position to glue other people thru WhatsApp teams, with our major workforce nonetheless going robust to nowadays. We run an additional soccer sport on Monday nights and the lads know there’s any person they are able to discuss to if they want strengthen.

Previously couple of years, we’ve been in a position to offer a variety of face-to-face peer strengthen teams equivalent to males’s teams and combined strolling teams. Now we provide 3 weekly daylight hours males’s teams in Salford with lots of the individuals being referred into us by way of social prescribers.

How did you get TAIM up and operating?
I’ve all the time had struggles with my very own psychological well being which simplest become transparent to me in 2004 elderly 18, when I used to be recognized with despair. The panorama has modified significantly since then and having a look again I will see that what I actually wanted was once areas to speak and open up about what was once happening for me, which I didn’t have.

Because of this, I struggled for 12 years ahead of experiencing a psychological breakdown and looking for strengthen within the type of counselling. I used to be determined for others not to undergo what I’d been thru, so once I moved again to Manchester after a couple of years away I determined to create a small meetup workforce known as ‘Communicate About It Mate’ since then it has modified my lifestyles for the easier in each manner.

I used to be in a position to prevent instructing and get started coaching as a counsellor along rising TAIM, now I juggle each roles and issues are rising at all times.

What’s TAIM’s dating with MAN v FAT?
Following my breakdown and whilst I used to be dwelling in London I determined (whilst having remedy) to in the end take on my problems with self belief and conceit. As this most commonly got here from how I felt about my weight, this was once the primary time I’d ever regarded as making an actual trade.

I joined MAN v FAT in Leyton and performed up till coming again up north, once I joined the freshly introduced Salford league. After some time I additionally joined the Manchester league. Being a part of the neighborhood was once nice for me, no longer simplest was once I losing a few pounds and rising in self belief I used to be making new friendships too.