ANGLING IN MIND

Wayne Bridger is 45-yrs-old and has been suffering from anxiety and depression for 28 years.

His hobby is fishing which he enjoys whenever he can as well as being a fan of the BBC programme ‘Gone Fishing’.

His girlfriend, ….., is a mental health nurse and they talked about how fishing helped his anxiety and whether it would be something he could pursue to help other people.

He spoke to the founder of a charity in Manchester called ‘Tackling Minds’, who was very encouraging, and so ‘Angling in Mind’ was launched.

With some Hampshire fishing clubs wanting to get involved, Wayne has set up a Facebook Page and is in the process of putting a website together, as well as a Youtube channel.

Angling Trust have put funding in place and part of their initiative is to ‘get people fishing.’  This will go towards paying for people to go fishing, join a club and maybe buy equipment.

Wayne has obtained a Level 2 certificate in counselling skills which he took in the 1st lockdown and his goal is to get people talking, building friendships and get more clubs involved. “Both men and women have come to me talking about mental health and are really opening up. It’s still hard to talk about but I’ll help anyone.”

To get involved, email anglinginminduk@gmail.com or sign up to the Facebook page – Angling In Mind UK