Mental health

A man with glasses and a beard stands in front of a park playground, showcasing a casual yet thoughtful demeanour.

Features

Project helping new dads cope with parenthood faces uncertain future

Dad Matters, set up in 2024, has been supporting men across Bristol to navigate the tricky challenges of early fatherhood – but the council is now working out if it can continue funding the service.

Listen: Bristol Unpacked, with former Lord Mayor Paul Goggin on homelessness, mental health and the struggle for south Bristol votes

Revealed: Bristol Uni plans to cut student wellbeing services are ‘reckless’, staff warn

Voices

‘The most liberating feeling’: how an ADHD diagnosis changed one Bristol business owner’s life

After her own personal journey, Lisa Whitehouse is determined to spread awareness and help others through her work.

People's History

A home for the ‘Hypochondriac, Mad and Distracted’: remembering the ‘madhouses’ of Fishponds

Listen: Bristol Unpacked with Neil Maggs

Listen: Bristol Unpacked with filmmaker Aodh Breathnach on surviving being stabbed – and documenting its impact on him

Healing is a justice issue: how can we radicalise the voluntary sector, amid a perfect storm of cuts?

When it comes to recovery from trauma, meeting people’s basic needs such as food, shelter, and physical safety is not enough. In an increasingly harsh environment, charities will need all their imagination and creativity to do more.

The gloves are on: the boxing charity helping young people bounce back

Photo essay: Empire Fighting Chance equips some of Bristol’s most marginalised young people with tools for survival and success

When words fail: Meet the Bristol group nurturing male musicians’ mental health

The Seed Sessions project combines counselling and music mentoring to help young men express themselves. We heard from its founder, one of the participants and a counsellor working with the group about the power of music as a therapeutic tool.

How talking clubs are getting Bristol blokes to open up and be vulnerable

I joined Talk Club and learned I can’t regulate my emotions. Then I got schooled by a therapist on toxic masculinity and dangerous role models. But how are you doing, out of 10?

Lost opportunities: are inquests failing to prevent future deaths?

Jess Durdy’s death followed clear failings by those charged with caring for her, her mother believes, but a coroner didn’t see it that way. Bereaved families, campaigners and lawyers say an opaque, inconsistent system needs change.

‘I was finally diagnosed with ADHD at 25. Would I have got this sooner if I was a boy?’

After years of being misdiagnosed and incorrectly medicated, Dolores has finally got an ADHD diagnosis. But how different could her childhood have been if she’d been diagnosed sooner, like boys often are?