This Mental Health Awareness Week, talkSPORT is raising awareness for how sports can have a hugely beneficial effect on our lives.
The week runs from May 13 to 19 and the theme is ‘Movement: Moving more for our mental health’.
You do not have to be a professional athlete to incorporate the benefits of exercise and activity into your everyday life.
And it is important to recognise that footballers and sportspeople of all disciplines experience similar feelings and difficulties to all of us.
Ex-Arsenal forward Perry Groves is one of many who have bravely shared their experiences with mental health struggles during their sporting careers.
He told talkSPORT about how he had found himself ‘completely and utterly broken’ during his playing career.
He said: “You didn’t speak about your feelings because you were worried that…your teammates might think that you were weak and your manager might think that you were weak mentally and that you weren’t ready to play at the weekend.”
He added: “We forget that (athletes) are humans, that fundamentally they’re human beings. They still go through the same feelings and emotions that we go through.”
And it is not just within football that the strain of being a professional athlete can take its toll.
Former England cricketer and Ashes winner Steve Harmison has also opened up on the homesickness and anxiety that affected him during some of the hardest moments of his career.
He told talkSPORT: “The minute the door was closed and I was in my own head – wow. What a dangerous place that was for me. No matter how tired I was, I couldn’t sleep. I mean, the thoughts were a million miles an hour in my head.”
But he expressed how grateful he was for teammates, Andrew Flintoff and Rob Key, who offered him company and support in his difficult moments.
He said: “They’d make sure they were always there to keep me occupied thinking positively and getting you through the next transition of getting you onto the right road.”
In recent years, a number of high profile sportsmen and women have drawn attention to the importance of speaking about mental health.
Moreover, figures like ex-England rugby captain Owen Farrell have also been open about taking time out from sport to prioritise their mental health.
Hayley Jarvis is Head of Physical Activity at mental health charity MIND – she told talkSPORT why the voices of athletes can be so influential.
“I think we’ve seen more people talk about mental health in society and particularly in sport,” she said. “From Adam Peaty, Simone Biles, Ben Stokes, Ben Chilwell and even Harry Kane has been talking about mental health.
She added: “It normalises the conversation – if it’s ok for them to be open, then it’s something we can do in our daily lives.
“We also know from research that over a quarter of people have said that hearing a celebrity or a sports star talk about mental health has actually made them reach out for help and support themselves. So I think it’s incredible powerful.”
With the theme for this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week on movement, talkSPORT are shining a light on how being active can have a positive impact on mental health.
Exercise and physical activity can have untold benefits, as well as connecting communities and increasing social links.
Sport in Mind is an organisation set up to encourage exactly that by holding community sports sessions that help people to connect and to stay active.
Founder and CEO Neil Harris told talkSPORT how they have engaged more than 20,000 people at their sessions since the organisation was founded, helping so many people to move for their mental health.
He said: “To come along to one of our activities is a big step for people, but once they do engage with us the rewards for their mental, physical and social health are absolutely huge.
He added: “We connect with people – we give them an opportunity to engage in things like football and yoga and tai-chi and running and walking and tennis. All the different sports that they wouldn’t ordinarily have the opportunity to do themselves.”
And Harris admitted the impact that Sport in Mind has already had is simply remarkable.
He said: “We’ve had people that have not worked in over ten years joining Sport in Mind, improve their mental health, improve their physical health, build their social skills and then they’ve returned to work.”
“I’m really proud of all the people that have come through our service and have been able to move on and return to work, education and training.”
For Groves and Harmison, in addition to advocating exercise, the importance of speaking about what they were going through cannot be overstated.
Harmison explained it was not just physical movement that he wanted to raise awareness for – but also the movement of connecting with others and opening up.
He said: “You’re sitting there bottling it all up – but I can guarantee that the person you’re talking to has had some similar thoughts or knows somebody who understands what the similar thoughts are.
“And maybe it’ll help you just by listening, just by talking through things. I think that movement is just as important as exercise.”
“There’s an old saying that says ‘a problem shared is a problem halved’…that is one of the truest sayings I’ve ever heard,” added Groves.
“As soon as you talk about how you’re feeling and you express your emotions, you’ll find that other people are thinking and feeling exactly the same as you.
“And once you’ve shared that with other people, it becomes a relief.”
If you are seeking help for mental health, then please refer to the following resources for guidance.
Mental health – NHS (www.nhs.uk)
How to seek help for a mental health problem – Mind
News Summary:
- How Harry Kane, Owen Farrell and Simone Biles have shown the the importance of sport in Mental Health Awareness Week
- Check all news and articles from the latest Football updates.