Around one in eight men have a common mental health problem in England (mentalhealth.org.uk). Yet, sadly, many guys are reluctant to seek support so it’s expected that a lot of cases go unreported and undiagnosed, leaving them to cope alone. With phrases such as ‘man up’ dictating our vocabulary and projecting an outdated, inaccurate and unhelpful ideology of what it means to be male, it’s no wonder men are hesitant to discuss their mental health. The correlation between poor mental health and male suicide rates isn’t to be ignored either. Just over three out of four suicides are by men and suicide is the biggest cause of death for males under 35 (ons.gov.uk). The stats demonstrate that there needs to be a change, one man who is striving to break the stigma is Jamie Day with his podcast, Man Talk, dedicated to normalising the conversation. We caught up with him to find out more.
I launched Man Talk in May 2018 after sharing my mental health journey through my blog and on social media. I had a hugely positive response to being so open, and I thought with the reasonable sized Instagram following I had, perhaps I could use my experiences to help men who, like me, might have been suffering for years and not doing much about it. After a bit of planning, the podcast quickly emerged and I found myself driving up and down the motorways to interview other men who had suffered with their mental health. The first series covered first-hand experiences with mental health – so, depression, anxiety, grief, PTSD, PND and suicidal episodes, and in series two I’ve focused on guests who can offer their expert advice on different ways to manage mental health. Guests have included a counsellor, a yoga instructor, a psychiatrist, a hypnotherapist, a men’s life coach and leading mental health charities, Movember (uk.movember.com) and ReThink Mental Illness (rethink.org). The aim of the show is to demonstrate there is no shame in seeking help and to get men talking. If one person has done that after listening to my show, then it’s been a success.
I think podcasts work for mental health discussions for a number of reasons. For a little while I thought about releasing the show as a YouTube channel, but we all know lots of men find it difficult to talk, so with a camera in their face, I didn’t think I’d get the programme I wanted. A podcast provides some intimacy between host and guest. I’d travel to their houses or meet in the pub, somewhere where they were comfortable to talk openly. Podcasts are also great for people on-the-go. Whether it’s the morning commute, a gym session or a dog walk, so many people are now sourcing their entertainment and news via podcasts.