Thousands of people have been tuning in to understand more about mental health in an unlikely place - listening to two friends talk over a beer.

The Why The Long Face? podcast is hosted by Chatham’s Oliver Turnbull and his psychiatrist friend Dr Paul Keedwell.

Listen to Oliver discuss the project on The KM Community Podcast

The pair met through mutual friends while Paul was studying at the University of Leeds and Oliver was at the University of Nottingham more than 30 years ago.

Paul went on to earn his doctorate and write books on psychology, while Oliver has become a management consultant.

They devised a plan to start their own podcast which would help people understand issues surrounding mental health.

Father-of-two Oliver, who lives in the Historic Dockyard where the podcast is also recorded, said: “If you are suffering, you don’t necessarily want to hear a very sombre, cold podcast."

“Paul comes from an educational perspective and I was quite surprised how well we are able to pull a podcast together and our rapport is so natural because we have known each other for so long.”

The show covers topics including anxiety - which Oliver has first-hand experience of - as well as depression and how things such as social media and gender can affect these.

“The first episode is called ‘Coming out’ and it is all about when you start to admit you have a problem which is the first step to recovering.”

After two seasons of the show, the duo are looking to do some live recordings in Kent after getting positive feedback from some of their 5,000 listeners.

Oliver added: “It’s very gratifying when you get emails from strangers. It’s a great way of soothing and calming people and making them realise they are not alone.

“It started off as a hobby and now we see that’s genuinely helping people.”

To find out more, visit their website.

For confidential support on an emotional issue, call Samaritans on 116 123 at any time.

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