🧘🎣 Fishing for better days

After a decade of mental-health struggles and alcohol addiction, one Briton found something unexpectedly life-saving: sitting by the water with a fishing rod. 

Now, his personal lifeline has turned into a full-blown, gov't-supported mental health program that's catching on across the UK.

Introducing: Tackling Minds, a volunteer-run group founded by Dave Lyons that offers free fishing lessons and equipment to people struggling with their mental health.

• Doctors and nurses can literally prescribe angling sessions for people dealing with anxiety, depression, or social isolation. 
• So far, 2,300+ patients have been handed a fishing pole alongside (or instead of) a prescription bottle.

How it works: Participants are paired with trained angling coaches, and given all the gear they need, funded in part by the National Lottery and Angling Trust.

• Every fish is safely released, but the benefits tend to stick. 
• Many patients report lower anxiety, stronger social connection, and a reason to get out of the house. “People we’ve worked with have said it’s saved their lives,” Lyons said.

Lyons’ work has now earned the UK’s highest volunteer honor: the King’s Award for Voluntary Service, which he’ll collect later this year before heading to a Buckingham Palace garden party. He’s dedicating the award to Tackling Minds’ late ambassador, former boxing champion Ricky Hatton, who supported the group’s mental-health mission before his death.

What’s next? Tackling Minds hopes to expand to benefit as many people as possible. Lyons’ goal is simple: make sure anyone who needs a peaceful moment by the water can get one—on the doctor’s orders.