PEOPLE are being encouraged to check their mental health as part of an NHS campaign backed by the Dukes and Duchesses of Cambridge and Sussex. Every Mind Matters aims to tackle Britain’s poor mental health by offering tips and videos on how to cope with life’s ups an downs. The couples will appear in a […]
PEOPLE are being encouraged to check their mental health as part of an NHS campaign backed by the Dukes and Duchesses of Cambridge and Sussex.
Every Mind Matters aims to tackle Britain’s poor mental health by offering tips and videos on how to cope with life’s ups an downs.
The couples will appear in a three-minute promo video to be shown on TV tonight – believe to be the first time senior royals have appeared in an advert.
It’ll direct viewers to the campaign’s website – a joint NHS and Public Health England initiative – pointing people to a mental health quiz to get customised advice.
Visitors are asked to think back over the last two weeks and answer from around six different options:
1. How is your mood?
2. How well do you sleep?
3. How anxious or on edge do you feel?
4. How stressed do you feel?
5. Have you been worrying about anything?
Based on your answers, it then generate a personalised “Mind Plan” that gives five simple ideas, which PHE says are grounded in scientific evidence to improve mental wellbeing.
Examples include taking the stairs and getting off the bus a stop earlier to increase your physical activity and help you sleep better.
There’s also videos on muscle relaxation and positive thinking, as well as links to free online courses about overcoming stress.
If the tip doesn’t sound helpful or suitable to you, you can swap it for a different idea.
The site isn’t for those with severe problems, but there is a “panic button” with contact details for helpful organisations such as the Samaritans.
People will also be signposted to places for support on money, relationships and other worries.
Health officials hope it will empower people to practically manage their symptoms to stop their mental health escalating, which would in time reduce pressure on clinical services and free up capacity.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the project harnesses the “power of modern technology to do good when we know it also can help contribute to some of these problems”.
He said: “Our health — both physical and mental — is an asset that needs to be nurtured.
“Every Mind Matters will benefit us all with an accessible tool to help manage our wellbeing at the click of a button.”
NHS England’s national mental health director Claire Murdoch said the campaign “absolutely signals a sea change in awareness and attitudes to mental health”.
Our health — both physical and mental — is an asset that needs to be nurtured
Matt Hancock
She said: “We do need digital social media, wider society, celebrities, industry, to step up to the plate and stop stoking the fires that can drive so much ill health in society, whether that’s idealised body image, cosmetic procedures, diet products, gaming and gambling – we are bombarded by it.
“So I think this is a fantastic example of how those components of society can come together for good to promote better mental health.”
Duncan Selbie, the chief executive of PHE, said: “Our health is affected by our circumstances, including having a job, friends and a roof over our heads.
“Anxiety, stress, low mood and trouble sleeping can affect everyone.”
EVERY 90 minutes in the UK a life is lost to suicide.
It doesn’t discriminate, touching the lives of people in every corner of society – from the homeless and unemployed to builders and doctors, reality stars and footballers.
It’s the biggest killer of people under the age of 35, more deadly than cancer and car crashes.
And men are three times more likely to take their own life than women.
Yet it’s rarely spoken of, a taboo that threatens to continue its deadly rampage unless we all stop and take notice, now.
That is why The Sun launched the You’re Not Alone campaign.
The aim is that by sharing practical advice, raising awareness and breaking down the barriers people face when talking about their mental health, we can all do our bit to help save lives.
Let’s all vow to ask for help when we need it, and listen out for others… You’re Not Alone.
If you, or anyone you know, needs help dealing with mental health problems, the following organisations provide support:
It comes as a new PHE survey of more than 3,000 adults in England found that 83% of respondents had experienced early signs of poor mental health in the last year including feeling anxious, stressed, having low mood or trouble sleeping
Over a quarter of these waited longer than six months before taking action, with more than half reporting coping mechanisms including smoking, drinking or unhealthy eating and avoiding social situations.
Paul Farmer, chief executive of the mental health charity Mind, said serious mental health problems could be prevented by taking some simple steps.
He said: “At a time when only a third of people with a mental health problem get access to any kind of help and support, it’s important to do whatever we can to help people take steps to stay well and try and prevent mental health problems developing in the first place.”
Eleven million are expected to see the Every Mind Matters ad when it airs simultaneously at 8.45pm on ITV, Channel 4, Five and Sky.
But the BBC has sparked fury by refusing to participate in the biggest ever “takeover” of the airwaves.
The four royals narrate the film, but each recorded their voiceovers on different days due to diary clashes, according to sources.
William, 37, starts the film by saying: “Everyone knows that feeling, when life gets on top of us.
“All over the country, millions of us face challenges to our mental health at all ages, at all intensities, and for all sorts of reasons.”
All over the country, millions of us face challenges to our mental health at all ages, at all intensities, and for all sorts of reasons
Prince William
Harry, 35, continues: “…your brother, your mother, your colleague, or your neighbour. Waiting, wondering, hoping, hurting.
“We think there’s nothing to be done. Nothing we can do about it.”
Meghan, 38, then counters: “But that’s so wrong. There are things we can do. From today, there’s a new way to help turn things around. Every Mind Matters will show you simple ways to look after your mental health.”
Kate, 37, says: “It’ll get you started with a free online plan designed to help you deal with stress, boost your mood, improve your sleep and feel more in control.”
The short film — written by Richard Curtis and directed by celebrity photographer Rankin — also features actresses Gillian Anderson and Glenn Close, telly host Davina McCall and Top Gear presenter Freddie Flintoff.
Extra content will be added to the site over time, including material on how to manage perinatal mental health and advice for parents on how to support their children.
For those without internet access, paper materials will be placed in places such as libraries, while GPs will be encouraged to direct patients towards the new resource.
BRITAIN’S Got Talent held a minute’s silence for viewers to “talk to each other” for a mental health charity — but it backfired as people who live alone said it made them “lonelier than ever”.
Ant and Dec interrupted Saturday night’s episode of BGT: The Champions for the silence.
As the presenters, judges and audience fell silent, viewers were told to speak to each other.
But one woman said it made her “feel more alone than ever”.
Others blasted show bosses for “not considering people who do not have families or friends”.
Graham Evans, of Mind, the charity behind the campaign, said: “The reaction we have seen has largely been very positive.”
An ITV spokesman said: “We hope it will encourage families to make time to talk.”
John Newton, director of Health Improvement at PHE, said the core target of the platform is people who are developing early symptoms of poor mental health, but that evidence has shown it can also help people with “quite severe mental illness”.
He added: “We are trying to get across this message that nobody in the world has ever tried to do anything on this scale before.
“The evidence tells you what happens in relatively small populations when you provide self-directed tools, so we would expect it to be beneficial, but what hasn’t been done before is to try and do this on a national scale, so we are very keen to learn… because if this is shown to be effective then it may have implications for other countries as well.”
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