Jimmy has suffered from depression and anxiety for most of his life, but it wasn’t until his mid-40s he was actually diagnosed. He has always had cycles of low mood swings but following a bereavement and divorce a few years ago, this got worse.

Jimmy attended group work therapy in the early days of his diagnosis but felt this was not the best option for him, as it tended to be more ‘doom and gloom’ rather than supporting him through his issues. He also found that he was later unable to attend any kind of group work activity and the most people he was comfortable with was two or three people. Psychological (IATP) services were a help whilst he attended, however at the end of this support his mental health issues continued to spiral.

Jimmy wasn’t aware he needed to do anything about his mental health as he felt he was in a cycle that he just had to live with. However, he then saw the video of Frank Lampard at a Team Talk session and recognised that he needed to do something about it, and that Team Talk might be able to help him.

Jimmy turned up to the first session extremely anxious about coming and sat in his car for the first 15 minutes to build up courage to get through the door. When he finally got inside it was something completely different to what he expected. The room was set up with games, guys were chatting and laughing, and staff were really welcoming and there was a ‘really calm atmosphere about the entire thing’.

At this session he was then invited to play on Pride Park pitch the following week.

“I was so excited to be asked to play on the pitch. I remember going to the Baseball Ground when I was younger and to get to actually play at Pride Park was amazing. I am 60 had not played football for over 20 years and had to borrow kit from anyone and anywhere. I ran around as much as I could, pulled a muscle, was tired, but at the end sitting in the changing rooms all I could think of was: Wow I can still play football.

“I have now joined the Everybody Active programme through the Trust where I can exercise more, play walking football and lose weight at the same time.”

Jimmy now attends weekly sessions and feels comfortable in a group situation with the others, he recognises he is not the only one who suffers from mental health issues and also recognises what a positive impact he has within the group around supporting others who are experiencing similar thoughts and feelings. His love for football has had a massive impact on his attendance and he “feels comfortable to attend sessions which are associated to the one thing he loves – football.”

“At the moment Team Talk provides me with everything I need and the tools to help me look after myself. Without seeing that video I honestly don’t know where I would be today. I am still not 100% but feel the slide of depression has come to a halt. I no longer feel isolated and feel I am happy to take part in activities and initiate conversations with others.”

You can find out more about our men's mental health project, Team Talk, below.

TEAM TALK