You can get the kids dressed, answer your emails, pay the bills and still be having a hard time.
You can love your family and feel overwhelmed by the responsibility. You can be grateful for what you have and still need somewhere to say that things are not right.
Those things do not cancel each other out.
For the dad who keeps saying he is fine because explaining the alternative feels like another job, a men’s support group might be worth a look. Not because somebody needs to fix him. Because he deserves somewhere to be heard, too.
As part of Daddies Do Too’s men’s mental health awareness series, we are putting the spotlight on ANDYSMANCLUB, commonly known as Andy’s Man Club. Here is what it offers, what attending involves and where to turn if you need more immediate help.
Need help now? If someone’s life is at risk, or you cannot keep yourself or someone else safe, call 999 or go to A&E. Do not wait for a group meeting. You can also call Samaritans on 116 123, free, any time, for someone to listen. NHS emergency guidance and Samaritans contact information.
What is Andy’s Man Club?
ANDYSMANCLUB is a men’s suicide prevention charity offering free peer-to-peer support groups around the UK, with an online option too. Its purpose is to make talking about difficult things more possible and reduce the stigma around men seeking support. About ANDYSMANCLUB.
Peer support means meeting other men and sharing experiences. It is not a clinical assessment, and it should not be presented as a replacement for professional treatment or emergency care.
That distinction matters. A room where you can talk is valuable in its own right, without anyone promising that one conversation will solve everything.
You do not have to prove you are struggling enough
The charity says you do not need a mental health diagnosis or a history of suicidal thoughts to attend. Its sessions are for adult men, not exclusively fathers. Read the attendance FAQs.
Perhaps you are carrying work worries into every evening. Perhaps a relationship has ended, you are adjusting to fatherhood, or your social life has gradually narrowed to colleagues and family responsibilities.
Perhaps there is no neat explanation. You would just like a space where you do not have to start with, “Other people have it worse, but…”
You do not need to turn your life into a convincing case before allowing yourself support. Nor do you need to wait until your difficulty becomes visible to everyone else.
What happens at your first meeting?
According to the charity’s first-visit guide, a facilitator welcomes you and shows you where to get a drink. The group sits in a circle, with a talking ball used to indicate whose turn it is. You can pass it on if you do not want to speak.
Meetings follow five questions. They begin with a check-in about the week, something positive and an opportunity to share what is troubling you. There is a break before the final two questions, which vary. What to expect at a group.
Knowing that structure might make the first visit feel less mysterious. You are not being asked to deliver a speech, have a breakthrough or arrive with the right vocabulary.
“I’m not sure what to say” is an honest starting point. So is choosing to listen.
The practical details
When: Mondays at 7pm, excluding bank holidays; allow approximately two hours.
Cost: Free.
Booking: No booking is required for in-person meetings.
Before travelling: Check the current venue and accessibility details, and aim to arrive a little early.
Online attendance: Follow the charity’s current joining instructions rather than assuming the in-person arrangements apply.
Use the official group finder and attendance FAQs for the latest arrangements.
Groups have confidentiality rules, but these are not an absolute promise of secrecy. The charity explains that facilitators may contact emergency services if they believe someone poses a danger to themselves or others. Confidentiality information.
Making room for yourself when you are a dad
For parents, a Monday evening is not always an empty space waiting to be filled. There may be bedtime, shift work, a commute or childcare to arrange.
That is a practical obstacle, not evidence that you do not want help enough.
If you share parenting responsibilities, you could explain what you need directly: “I’d like to try this group. Can we work out how to make that evening possible?” Where possible, give the other parent comparable room for their own support and time away from responsibilities.
If a particular meeting is impossible, look at another suitable service or an online option. Support should not become another test you feel you have failed.
And while this is a website for dads, your wellbeing matters beyond what you do for your children. You deserve support as a person, not just because other people depend on you.
What if a talking group does not feel like your thing?
You do not have to pretend otherwise. Different people prefer different settings, and the first option you consider need not be the one you choose.
Three organisations worth exploring alongside Andy’s Man Club are:
Mentell
Mentell provides free online and in-person circles for men aged 18 and over. Its approach centres on listening without judgement or giving advice. Check its circle listings and sign-up arrangements before attending.
Men Who Talk
Men Who Talk offers free online support groups for men aged 18 and over living in the UK. This may be a practical option if travel is difficult. The organisation explicitly distinguishes its groups from therapy or counselling. How its groups work.
UK Men’s Sheds Association
UK Men’s Sheds Association helps people find community spaces built around practical interests, sharing skills and making friends. This is a different model from a talking circle: connection can happen alongside making or mending things. Local arrangements vary, and some Sheds include women, so check membership, costs and opening times directly.
The point is not that one of these is best for every man. It is that there is more than one way to begin connecting with other people.
Supporting a mate without putting him on display
If this article makes you think of someone, send it privately. Do not tag him publicly with a comment about his mental health or tell his story without permission.
An offer can be simple: “Saw this and thought it might be useful. Happy to look at it with you if you want.”
You can offer practical help, such as checking a venue or arranging transport, without taking over. Let him decide what he wants to share. Avoid making attendance a condition of your friendship or treating a first visit as something he must report back on.
When a group is not enough
You can use peer support alongside professional care. Needing an appointment, treatment or urgent help is not a failure of talking, and it is not a failure on your part.
If you need urgent mental health help in England, call 111 and select the mental health option, or ask for an urgent GP appointment. For an emergency, including being unable to keep yourself or someone else safe, call 999 or go to A&E. NHS guidance.
Across the UK, Samaritans is available free on 116 123, day or night. You do not have to wait for a crisis to call. Contact Samaritans.
Daddies Do Too’s comments and social messages are not an emergency support service. If you need help now, contact an appropriate service directly rather than waiting for a reply here.
One useful next step
An awareness week should leave you with more than a slogan.
Open the Andy’s Man Club group finder. Look at what is available near you. Or explore one of the alternatives above.
You do not have to decide everything today. Finding out what support actually looks like is a worthwhile place to start.
You are allowed to be the dad people rely on and a man who needs support himself.
Independent Daddies Do Too editorial. No affiliation with or endorsement by the organisations featured is claimed. Service information checked on 14 September 2026; check current arrangements before attendance.
Illustrative AI-generated image, not a photograph of the organisation or an actual group meeting. This is independent Daddies Do Too editorial coverage, not a partnership or endorsement.
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