Latest news with #BBCWM
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Mental health podcaster on month of fundraiser runs
The co-founder of a men's mental health podcast is running every day in May to raise money for a charity that supports his daughter. Lee Cadman, who is one half of Black Country Blokes, has run 5km (3.1miles) each day since the start of the month, to raise awareness of a condition called Dravet Syndrome and funds for medical research. He has been posting on social media, having been inspired by his daughter who has the severe neurological condition. Mr Cadman and fellow podcaster Kevin Dillon were recently awarded a King's Award for Voluntary Service. They spoke to BBC WM about men's mental health, highlighting the benefits of writing a gratitude list and doing daily exercise. To anyone dealing with mental issues, Mr Cadman said "you have to open up". "You have to find someone who you trust, who you can open up to," he said. "It doesn't have to be a professional. It can be a friend, it can be your wife, it can be anyone, just find someone who you can open to. "Hopefully, that will be a positive experience for you and that person will listen. For the person who is listening, that's all you've got to do. You've just got to listen. You don't need to solve the problem, you have to listen." Mr Dillon said the "best friend" of any mental health issue was loneliness and he urged people to try to avoid being alone when problematic feelings arose. "By knocking down those walls and showing people you're not alone, it gives them the strength to talk and to be there," he said. "We feel weak for feeling emotional, but we should have emotions, we should be happy and sad - all those wonderful things - because we're human beings." During his fundraising, Mr Cadman has also posted on Facebook that it "isn't just a run". "It's a lifeline. It's a message. It's me saying enough. Enough silence. Enough feeling alone," he wrote. The Black Country Blokes group runs a podcast, radio slot, daily boxing and fitness classes and a Thought for the Day on social media. It evolved from founder Mr Dillon's plans to create a boxing gym where men could open up about their problems and fears. Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram. Awards recognise volunteers giving time to others Black Country Blokes Dravet Syndrome UK
BBC News
25-03-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Birmingham professor says Netflix show highlights need to talk
An expert in sociolinguistics believes the biggest takeaway from the Netflix series Adolescence is not about social Dr Robert Lawson, Associate Professor of Sociolinguistics at Birmingham City University, said he believes the need for "meaningful conversations between parents and children was more important".The four-part series has prompted a national conversation about the impact of social media and "manosphere" show explores the use of emojis to communicate on social media and the devastating consequences of online bullying, but Dr Lawson said: "Understanding that language isn't a silver bullet to understanding their worlds and their lives." Teenagers at The Way Youth Zone in Wolverhampton told BBC WM they recognised a lot of the themes in the said: "You hear all the time of people getting stabbed and stuff and they're like school students all the time, around the same age as well."He said Instagram, X and Snapchat were commonly used for the "misogynistic stuff".Another teenager said: "People will fight and then people will fight other people that were there just watching it happen, and then it escalates even more."Others suggested restrictions should be placed on mobile phone apps, with one teenager adding: "I don't think they need to be banned, I just think there needs to be more restriction on stuff, like what people can post and what people can't post." Dr Lawson believes communication between parents and children is key to them not getting trapped in a social media explained: "If all that the kids have is social media then where do the other positive influences in their lives come from? "Where do the other role models come from? "Where are they having those conversations about difficulties that they're facing in their life?" Follow BBC Wolverhampton & Black Country on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
