A NEW men’s mental health walking group is being set up in Droitwich by a local man inspired to help others after his own experiences.
37-year-old married father of four, Danny Walton, is setting up the town’s first Men Walking and Talking group to help combat loneliness and isolation and encourage conversations among like-minded men.
“Knowing there’s other people out there who feel the same as you do helps break down those feelings of isolation. Meeting for just one hour every week could make all the difference,” Danny told the Standard.
The engineering project manager was inspired to start the group after finding out about the Men Walking and Talking organisation during his own experiences living with depression, anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).
Although he appreciated the support these groups were giving others, he never managed to attend one because no group existed within a distance he was comfortable travelling at the time.
“What better way to counter that than start my own,” Danny said.
His group will meet at Droitwich Lido Park’s paid car park at 7pm every Wednesday. The first meeting will be on September 11.
The married man who coaches under 12’s football in his spare time is now ‘very excited’ about meeting new people and ‘can’t wait to get going’ with the project.
Danny added: “I spent years thinking it was only me who felt that way which really wasn’t the case.
“In more recent years I’ve come to realise the importance of talking and learnt a lot more men are effected than I realised.
“Let’s normalise talking about these things and make sure everyone knows it’s okay to not be okay.
“It will make my own story worthwhile when my group are walking and talking amongst themselves and helping each other without knowing.
“It’s that kind of community created which will give everyone a boost.”
Visit https://www.menwalkingandtalking.co.uk/walks/droitwich-walk/ for more information.
