A suicide prevention charity has used football as a way to support men’s mental health in Sheffield.
The charity gives men the space to be able to play football and open up about their emotions, as a way to combat the increasing number of male suicides.
Keith Cronin, 42, self employed life coach at Head in the Game said: “Everyone of those men that aren’t here anymore are either husbands, dads, a boss, a colleague or a friend and we can either help or improve people’s mental health and that means we don’t have to lose them.
“Genuine friendships are born out of these sessions, and they have become a safe space where men can come together in a non judgemental and non macho way.”
Oliver Marsh, 28, Sheffield joined one of the Head In The Game’s programmes a year ago, which focused around playing friendly football whilst incorporating mental health coaching.
He said: “I was severely depressed from a breakup. I was 26 when my ex and I broke up, and we had our own house, a dog and basically grew up together.
“After the break up it took me two weeks to get back to eating properly and I had a constant pressure headache. I was in a bad place and my family were concerned for me, however after coming home from my first session I got in the shower, and I thought I’m starting something that is going to help me get to the next stage of where I want to be mentally”.
Oliver attended his first Head In The Game session 18 months ago, and still continues to play football with the charity in Sheffield.
He said: “You will never regret joining and I will defend that statement forever because it helped me like I’d never known and it could help someone else like they’ve never known. It gives you mates that you never knew you could get.”
If you would like to learn more about the charity you can follow the link to their website: Football Sessions – Head In The Game.
Edited by Alex Jones