The way men talk to themselves isn’t healthy

You would never talk to a friend or stranger that way. It is cruel and ultimately affects confidence. 

Fishing the Good fight is out there talking about the things that we as people and men especially to hide or keep secret. Men are told to bury it deep, don’t cry, be strong… shut up and keep going. What if we eliminated that stigma? What if someone out there was talking about men that deal with childhood trauma, anger issues and depression? The fact that sleep loss or excessive sleep, withdrawal from friends, losing interest in hobbies and not being able to focus are actually signs of depression? As you can probably tell, they are talking about it. It’s about damn time someone did.

Jennings, the founder of Fishing the Good Fight dealt with depression himself.

Founder Jennings Hester

He had no idea though that’s what he was going through after 12 years of feeling like he was in a brain fog, sleeping too much, not finding joy in activities and thoughts of not being “here” anymore. After being dragged to a psychologist he was diagnosed with severe depression. That was a beginning though for him, at least he now knew what was going on and could get help for it. After getting on the right medication and having therapy he got our more, started backpacking and journaling. He soon found he felt focused, clear, present and more alive. 

He also discovered (as many of us have) that fly fishing and fly tying were a sense of therapy. I asked how though specifically did fly fishing help him? Jennings said that depression is a struggle of the past, anxiety is a struggle of the future, but when on the water the only thing that mattered was that moment.

He knew he was on to something and wanted to help other men through fly fishing. Especially now when men (my words here) are CONSTANTLY being accused of toxic masculinity or not being man enough. That they should be ashamed or that they should be doing more. As a female I do my best to praise my husband and through my faith and morals he is the head of our household. But with a world saying women can be and do anything and men shouldn’t be manly it is easy to see how this can be overwhelming.

So where to start?

Fishing the Good Fight is working towards hosting retreats to get men on the water to learn how to fly fish and tie flies. During fly tying those sessions are a lot like group therapy sessions where the men have a safe space to openly talk about anything to each other as well as the onboard licensed therapist. When these retreats are not going on they are actively helping men that struggle with depression, having open discussions about physical and mental symptoms and leading men towards the help they need. Fishing the good fight is also working on getting men that need financial assistance into therapy. They have an application process on their website and through therapy partners, the sale of their fly boxes and donations they are able to help others.

The main goal of Fishing the Good Fight is to improve ALL lives by serving men facing mental health challenges. It is like a butterfly effect, helping heal the man affects those around him and therefore improving all those lives. 

Please be sure to check out their Instagram. I applaud them for stepping up and speaking out about men's health. To see more about them and how you can help click here. About Us | Fishing the Good Fight

Tight lines and good vibes, y’all.