'Broverwatch' is a group of guys who get together to play games and talk about their feelings

At three o'clock every Sunday afternoon, a group of four British lads get together to play video games. This might sound like a pretty standard Sunday, but these chaps congregate so they can talk about their mental health, their feelings, and, well, how crap they are at video games.

They call themselves "Broverwatch." (And, yeah, they really love playing Overwatch.)

Don't let the project's name fool you: Broverwatch couldn't be further from the bro-y, alpha male get-together you might be imagining. Social media producer Duncan Vicat-Brown—one of the four "bros"—says the project started up because "men don't talk about their feelings enough."

That's why Vicat-Brown and his friends—filmmaker Jamie Drew, mental health activist Carl Anka, and games writer Jon Partridge—decided to turn their gaming hangouts into mental health check-ins among friends.

"Broverwatch came about as an attempt to reposition group sessions of kicking a digital ball around or murdering space aliens into a check-in," says Vicat-Brown. "So, how’s everyone doing? How do we feel about X issue? What can we learn from each other’s stories?"

They don't always play Overwatch, by the way. They've recently branched out into other games, including Destiny 2, Rocket League, and they planing on playing a "bunch more" (provided they already own the games). The guys always stream their Broverwatch sessions, and they can be accessed on their Twitch channel and watched back on their YouTube channel.

"Just look at the horrific statistics for male suicide in the UK," Vicat-Brown says.

"There are complex and myriad reasons behind them," says Drew, adding that the British "stiff upper lip" and lad culture "have a lot to answer for."

According to male suicide prevention charity CALM, suicide is the "single biggest" cause of death in men under 45 in the UK, and in 2015, 75 percent of suicides were male.

Mental health campaigners have stated that social pressures for "men to be strong, and to not talk about their feelings" can prevent men from opening up to loved ones about their mental health, or even seeking help.

Each Broverwatch session begins with a check-in, and each person takes turn talking about how they've been doing. "Sometimes the conversation naturally flows from there; a story about a bad date could turn into a round table about the pitfalls of dating while suffering from anxiety and depression, for example," says Vicat-Brown. "Sometimes we use the news as a springboard."

Ultimately, they hope that their informal chats about their own mental health will help others "feel better about themselves," "less alone in their struggle," and—importantly—"more able to talk through their feelings with their friends."

They are cognisant, too, that talking about mental health isn't always the best option for everyone.

"Maybe your thing is prescription medication; maybe it’s talking therapy; maybe it’s venting to a thousand strangers online; and yes, maybe it’s picking up a controller and talking about how much pressure you’re under over a few Rocket League matches," says Vicat-Brown.

He says the most important thing for people to glean from Broverwatch is that they're not alone. "There are options available to you, and people that can help – some of whom might be people you’re already talking to every day," he says.

The guys have already had a few people come to them to say that their sessions have helped them; something they say is "mind-blowing" to them. "We want to show that mental health issues are often more complicated than they’re presented, and that everyone’s experience is different and valid," says Vicat-Brown.

If you want to talk to someone or are experiencing suicidal thoughts, text the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. For international resources, this list is a good place to start.