Groundbreaking new platform launched to support mental health

By GreaterSport | 07 October 2019 | TAGS: Mental health

Public Health England (PHE) have today launched ‘Every Mind Matters’, the new campaign that supports self-care for better mental health, in partnership with the NHS.

The campaign aims to support everyone to feel more confident in taking action to look after their mental health and wellbeing by promoting a range of self-care actions. A new PHE survey reveals more than 8 in ten people have experienced early signs of poor mental health including feeling anxious, stressed, having low mood or trouble sleeping in the last 12 months.

‘Every Mind Matters’ focuses on four key areas; stress, anxiety, low mood, and sleep. The campaign comes with an extensive range of resources that help spot the signs of common mental health concerns, provides practical self-care tips and guidance and, importantly, explains when to seek further support. The resources can be utilised at your organisation, and will be displayed in GPs, Pharmacies, local authorities, libraries, and other community organisations. ‘Every Mind Matters’ comes with a tool which enables people to answer a very quick questionnaire producing a personalised Mind Plan with recommendations to help people improve their mental wellbeing, including encouraging people to move more; this tool can also be embedded into partner websites or intranets. View the campaign and access the tool here.

In 2017/18, 20.2% of Greater Manchester's residents self-reported that they have high anxiety levels, which is higher than the national average. At GreaterSport, we're committed to changing lives through physical activity and sport, and recognise that moving more can help to improve our mental health. An active life reduces anxiety, lifts mood, reduces stress, promotes clearer thinking and a greater sense of calm, increases self-esteem and reduces the risk of depression.

Shirley Hurst (Development Manager, Activity) commented;

‘‘Every Mind Matters’ is a great campaign by PHE with the opportunity for organisations and individuals to take action to look after their mental health and wellbeing. GreaterSport have achieved the ‘Mental Health Charter for Sport and Recreation’, as an organisation we know the importance of physical activity and sport on mental wellbeing and have been working on improving our understanding and practice around mental health for the last few years. We want to ensure that the benefits of physical activity on mental health are prominent in what we do and not just a side effect, promoting the importance among our partners. We fully back ‘Every Mind Matters’ and encourage all organisations to get behind the campaign’.

Learn more about the campaign and download resources can be downloaded from PHE here, including a webinar providing full details about the campaign.