Harry Maguire & Jesse Lingard offer tips on how to maintain your mental health
Manchester United and England duo Harry Maguire and Jesse Lingard are among the professional sportsmen to back the NHS’ mental health campaign ‘Every Mind Matters’.
Public Health England’s Every Mind Matters platform has launched new advice, focussed on looking after people’s mental wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic. It has been updated after new data shows 85.2% of Brits are worried about the effect that coronavirus is having on their life, with 53.1% saying it was affecting their well-being and 46.9% reporting high levels of anxiety.
With many feeling worried, anxious or isolated during these challenging times, Every Mind Matters highlights that there are lots of things we can all do to look after our mental wellbeing and help others to prevent these concerns from becoming more serious.
The range of new resources, designed specifically to help manage our mental wellbeing during coronavirus, include a tailored COVID-19 Mind Plan, COVID-19 specific content for individuals and their loved ones, and support for specific mental wellbeing issues such as anxiety, stress, low mood and trouble sleeping.
The website signposts people to activities such as mindful breathing exercises, help reframing unhelpful thoughts and muscle relaxation.
Manchester United captain Maguire, meanwhile, reinforced the advice to talk about your worries, whether that be with friends and family or services such as the Samaritans, Mind or CALM.
“Speaking regularly to my friends and family is so important during this time,” Maguire said. “It doesn’t matter how – whether it’s via Skype, FaceTime or just a simple call.
“It’s good to speak about how you’re feeling with others which supports everyone’s mental wellbeing. The conversations give me a lot of encouragement and positivity, which is exactly what everyone needs during self-isolation.”
Lingard also spoke about the importance of staying in contact with his family, while also mentioning the benefits of exercise.
“I’m doing yoga twice a week at home to look after my mental health,” he said. “Speaking to my family on a regular basis is also really helpful as they give me support and make me feel connected.
“All of our lives have obviously changed a lot in recent weeks which can be confusing and make you feel anxious. Even during isolation I am trying to stay focused and set goals which has helped me maintain a routine and positive attitude.”
For more information, search ‘Every Mind Matters’ or visit www.everymindmatters.co.uk to create your personalised Mind Plan, which will help people with their mental wellbeing during this time.
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