07 Oct 2019
Major new wellbeing campaign to guide people to better mental health
BY Tom Walker
A major nation-wide campaign is aiming to help people build simple changes into their daily lives, in order to improve their mental wellbeing.
Launched on 7 October, Every Mind Matters has been created in partnership between the NHS and Public Health England (PHE).
The digital mental health action plan has been developed over the past 18 months by clinical and academic experts and national mental health charities. It also utilises input from people who have experienced poor mental health.
At the centre of the campaign is an online platform, designed to suggest some of the steps people can take to be better prepared for life’s "ups and downs".
The platform allows users to create a personalised action plan recommending a set of self-care actions. The service is based on a ‘Mind Plan’, which asks users five questions about their mental wellbeing – including their mood, sleep patterns, daily anxiety and stress levels and their day-to-day worries.
Based on the answers, the platform produces a personalised list of actions to take, which range from changes in daily habits to exercising more.
If the answers given by the user suggest they have serious mental health concerns, the plan encourages them to sign up for therapy through the free NHS therapy service IAPT.
Every Mind Matters will work together with a number of high-profile supporters to highlight the service. Those taking part include The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who feature in a TV advert to be broadcast across national channels.
The launch comes after a PHE survey revealed more than eight in ten (83 per cent) people have experienced early signs of poor mental health including feeling anxious, stressed, having low mood or trouble sleeping in the last 12 months.
"While these can be a natural response to life’s challenges, they can become more serious if people don’t take action – and many wait too long," the PHE said in a statement.
Sport will feature heavily in the campaign too. As well as physical activity being among the suggested actions to take in order to improve mental wellbeing, organisations such as the England and Wales Cricket Board have declared their official support of the campaign.
ECB will promote Every Mind Matters to staff, the wider cricketing network and supporters in a number of ways.
• To try the Every Mind Matters tool, click here.
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