THERE is a safe space in Winchester for men to talk about their mental health.

The ManGang meet every Wednesday in the city – where members will talk and importantly listen to one another.

When talking to the Chronicle, Andy Bishop said that it is not a therapy nor counselling group, but simply a place to talk to others who may be dealing with the same troubles.

"Suicide in men has been described as a silent emergency," he said. "Mental health has been gathering momentum as a topic of concern as the UK rolls onwards through the pandemic.

"Every single person that I know that has been affected by a male in their network always seems to say the same thing – ‘I never knew he was struggling'.

"Have you ever stopped and paused and thought about that statement? ‘I never knew he was struggling, he never said anything!’ One of the reasons why more men complete suicide than women could be the way that the different genders deal with issues.

"Think about it, generally speaking, when a female has an issue – she will talk to her friends, her family members perhaps even her colleagues. In my experience, she will talk to another woman.

"What does a man do? There are a lot of things that he might do but most of them are usually unhealthy coping strategies. He might turn to booze or recreational drugs, to numb the pain, he might start being short tempered or even the opposite. When you ask him how he is, the answer you will receive will usually be along the lines of ‘I’m fine’. Why? Because of the stigma associated with poor mental health."

The ManGang first met in September 2019 when 12 men walked through the door.

Since then it has helped hundreds of men from across Hampshire, the UK and even the world.

One of the stalwart members joins the Zoom calls from Mexico City.

The group meet every Wednesday at three locations: Southampton, Winchester and Eastleigh.

Contact: info@mangang.org or call 0330 0436525 to find out more.