Mental Health Journal (Formerly Andy's Man Club Journal)

After a breakdown, I joined Andy’s Man Club and it saved my life. I built a journal to track daily highs/lows and prep for Monday sessions so I’m ready, even when anxiety hits. Hope it helps you too.

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Inspiration

After having a mental health breakdown in November, I knew I had to make a change. I found Andy’s Man Club, a nationwide men’s mental health group in the UK that meets every Monday night. It saved my life. Every session we share our weekly wins, frustrations, and goals and in doing so, we open up in ways that truly matter. But I often struggled to recall my week when I needed to because of my anxiety and short term memory. So I built something to help me and other people in the same boat.

What it does

Mental Health Journal is a simple digital tool that helps members track their mental health journey day by day. It allows you to log your daily highlights, reflect on your week, and email yourself your notes before Monday night sessions. It’s built to take the pressure off your memory so even when anxiety shows up, you’re still ready to talk.

How I built it

This started as a personal project something I needed. I built a clean, user-friendly web app focused on journaling and reflection. It allows users to input short daily notes and, with a single tap, email themselves a weekly summary before group meetings. The goal was simplicity, speed, and emotional safety and I built it the weekend before the hackathon ended after taking a Vibe Coding Bootcamp in collaboration with 100school

Challenges I ran into

The biggest challenge was building something that feels safe, personal, and easy to use without being overwhelming. It had to be useful for someone who might be in a tough headspace. Keeping the design minimal while still delivering value took careful thought. The biggest challenges I had was syncing the backend with the frontend and fixing fetching errors. It's not completely fixed but it works. And works 10x better on mobile than desktop.

What's next for Mental Health Journal?

This is more than an app, it’s a support tool for all men struggling with their mental health. Next, I want to share this tool with more men's charities, refine it based on feedback, and maybe even collaborate directly with Andy’s Man Club to expand its reach and bring back the original version of the app: andysmanclubjournal.com

My hope is that it becomes a trusted companion for all members of Andy's Man Club that attend and for any new man walking into that room on a Monday night, feeling nervous, but not alone.

Accomplishments that I am proud of

Honestly, the biggest win is finishing it within the time frame. I’m proud of myself for taking something that was born out of pain and turning it into something that might help thousands of others. From breakdown to breakthrough, this feels like a full circle moment.

What I learned

I learned that healing doesn’t have to be loud. Sometimes it looks like building quiet tools that help others feel seen, heard, and prepared. I also learned that simple ideas, when rooted in real need, can be powerful.

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