Male suicide: Mike McCarthy praises Sheffield Talk Club

The father of a man who took his own life has said setting up a "talking club" for men to discuss their feelings has proved "immensely helpful" to him.

Former TV journalist Mike McCarthy launched the Talk Club at Sheffield United in memory of his son Ross, who died last February.

Mr McCarthy said the South Yorkshire group had now proved so successful it was going to be expanded.

Suicide is the biggest killer of men under 45 in the UK, statistics show.

Mr McCarthy, an ex-BBC and Sky News reporter from Sheffield, said he set up Talk Club because his son wrote a note before he died asking his family to campaign for better mental health support for men.

Ross McCarthy, 31, had struggled with depression for 10 years.

Mike McCarthy said: "Suicide is the single biggest killer of men under 45 in the UK. Three quarters of people who take their own lives in the UK are men.

"There's a real need to encourage men to speak up about their feelings. It's something we men aren't very good at. That's a generalisation, but it's true nonetheless."

Talk Club was originally founded in Bristol in 2019 and now has 35 groups in the UK, plus some in Australia and the US.

The South Yorkshire group, run by Sheffield United Community Foundation, is free and no booking is required.

"It's as simple as it sounds," Mr McCarthy said.

"Men just turn up and we sit and talk. There's no advice offered, it's more what we can do to look after our mental wellbeing."

Josh Blunkett, from Sheffield United Community Foundation, said he had seen for himself how men had changed after attending a few Talk Club sessions.

"We've seen people who have come in really quiet and anxious, unsociable to an extent," he said.

"A few weeks later, we're seeing them get to know people. They come in early just for a bit of an extra chat. It's really changed their demeanour."

Mr McCarthy said it had been "extremely gratifying" to be able to listen to men open up and talk about their feelings.

He added that hopefully other sport clubs would set up their own Talk Clubs.

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