'Fishing helped my mental health after breakdown'

Michael Bromley is promoting how fishing can help people struggling with their mental health

An angler who experienced a mental health breakdown has said fishing has helped him "interact better with the world".

Michael Bromley, who is a committee member at Peatmoor Lake in Swindon, said his mental health had spiralled in August 2022.

"I spent a whole year pretty much just looking out the window every day," he said. "Men don't talk about mental health, so I'm trying to break down the stigma."

He has now started a campaign to use fishing to raise awareness of mental health issues and to help others who might be struggling.

'I don't hide'

"I suffer from mental health problems. I don't hide because I don't feel we should," Mr Bromley said.

He organised a 48-hour carp fishing match over the weekend, raising money for local mental health charity IPSUM Swindon.

He also wants to get a Fishing 4 Mental Health Awareness Day in the calendar in future, with clubs across the country taking part.

"Let's get people on the bank, let's get them out in nature, walking around," he said.

"The mental health benefits are incredible."

Club member Lee Fitzgibbon said the lake was his "happy place"

Club member Lee Fitzgibbon called the lake his "happy place".

"I come to get away and de-stress. I regain my sanity next to the water," he said.

"I think there's something special about being next to water - there's something soothing and calming about it."

However, it is not all slow-paced. Mr Fitzgibbon said it could also be "a buzz".

"Once you're hooked on fishing, you don't think about anything else," he explained.

'Challenges'

Mr Bromley found setting himself challenges helped once he had started fishing again.

"I was a keen fisherman in my younger years, I thought, 'I live by the lake, let's get back out fishing'," he said.

"I set myself a challenge - to catch 100lb of bream in a single day."

The challenge was going well until last year when oxygen deprivation hit the fish stocks and thousands of fish died.

There have been a few re-stocks since but it will take time for the lake and fish to reach the previous levels.

Mr Bromley said he had simply adapted his challenge.

"I set myself a new challenge - to catch a 20lb carp," he said.

With the lake slowly coming back to life, Mr Bromley hopes others will join them and take in the positive benefits of fishing.