Everyone has mental health, and mental illness affects people of all genders, but we know that stereotypes and societal pressures can make it especially difficult for men to talk about their wellbeing and get support. On top of this, people don’t always know how to respond when a friend or family member reaches out for help, especially if they haven’t had many conversations about wellbeing before.
Movember has worked with experts (including psychologists and professors) to develop a website called Movember Conversations.
Who Movember Conversations is for
Movember Conversations says it’s ‘an online tool for those who want to feel more confident and informed when navigating an important conversation with a man in their life who might be struggling.
While the site is designed with men in mind, it might be that you find some of the information is useful for starting conversations with and supporting people of other genders too – and that’s great.
What you’ll find on Movember Conversations
The Movember Conversations website has four main sections.
It has information about a four-step approach to conversations about mental health and wellbeing, with interactive tools and exercises to help you understand and practise each step.
It has interactive conversations you can walk through to practise talking to someone in certain common situations. For example, you can explore what you could say if you notice a friend has become withdrawn, how to help someone who’s grieving, or how to start a conversation with someone who’s experienced heartbreak.
There are also articles covering a range of topics, including how to talk to someone about their anger, how to help a friend who’s unmotivated, and how to talk to someone about mental health if they have their guard up.
And finally there’s a five-part video series about therapy (please note that some of the videos contain swearing). There are lots of misconceptions about therapy, so the videos tackle common queries by explaining what therapy is, how it can make a difference, and how people can access it. The information on accessing support is quite general because the videos are designed to be useful for a people of all ages, no matter where they live. The Best For You website has more information on how young people in north-west London and beyond can find help.
Support for young men in north-west London and the UK
For urgent help, the Get help now page has information about how you can get support through our NATTER text service, as well as links to other ways to get help (including NHS urgent mental health helplines and online chat provided by Childline).
If you’re based in north-west London, there are pages about accessing support near you. There’s a page for each borough, split into NHS help, non-NHS support (including mentoring and therapy), support for specific topics like being a young carer or being LGBTQ+, and other wellbeing-boosting activities like youth clubs.
Wherever you are in the UK, the Best For You website has information about digital mental health resources, including our app library and 24/7 confidential text service.
