PROGRESS Wrestling Supports Mental Health Awareness Week.

This week marks Mental Health Awareness Week and here at PROGRESS Wrestling we want all of our fans to know, that if anyone needs support or somebody to talk to – we are here!

Mental health affects many people in different ways, and even if it is not you that is affected, your friends or family could be going through a tough time.

This year’s focal point for Mental Health Awareness Week is anxiety, which has become one of the most talked about topics in mental health.

To raise awareness for something so close to all of our hearts here at PROGRESS, and to encourage more people to talk and to show nobody is alone, we spoke to a number of people about mental health and how it has impacted their lives.

Charles Crowley, PROGRESS wrestler who is also spectacular, said: “I have had immense battles with mental health. It hits you in your darkest times but also in your busiest most ‘successful’ times.

“People don’t know what I am going through right this second for example, because social media is a great filter. I touched on it at RESURGENCE when I couldn’t do a show because I was not in a good place.

“It’s exposing to talk that way so openly, especially on a stage, but a mum and her child came up to me afterwards and thanked me profusely for being so open about my mental health.

“She explained to me how good it was for her son to hear. To wrap this up for now, I don’t care who you are or if I know you, I will always make time to talk to anyone who needs a chat!”

Cat Williams, Social Media Manager at PROGRESS, said: “I have struggled with my mental health for more than 12 years now and two years ago, I was diagnosed with Bipolar.

“There have been times where I have felt extremely lonely or struggled with low moods. I felt embarrassed to reach out to someone.

“But please just know that there is always support, and don’t be scared to reach out. There are great mental health support teams that are available 24/7, and something I go by daily is ‘it is ok not to be ok’.

“Please reach out to someone even if it is a hello or how are you, it could really make their day!”

Lee McAteer, PROGRESS Wrestling co-owner, said: “Mental health matters and we take it all very seriously. We are always here if anyone wants to reach out. A problem shared is a problem halved.

“Please do not suffer in silence. If you’re having issues with social media for example, please just shut it off, take a break and remember treat people how you’d want to be treated.”

Big Damo, PROGRESS wrestler, said: “I believe in our society, we have tried to kick the can down the road, put it off or hope it goes away rather than work with our mental health in the here and now.

“That is simply not good enough! We need to do better, we need to raise awareness, we need to understand that reaching out and asking for help is not a sign of weakness. It is the ultimate sign of strength!”

Here are some helpful contacts for people to reach out too if they’re in need of support…

MIND – 0300 123 3393 (open 9am-6pm weekdays)

Samaritans – 116 123 (always open)

Campaign Against Living Miserably – 0800 58 58 58 (open 5pm – midnight each night)

To find out more about Mental Health Awareness Week, please CLICK HERE.