Mental health, women and physical activity

Hayley Jarvis,

Community programmes manager (Sport)

Overview of the session

• An understanding of the prevalence of mental health problems experienced

by women including an overview of the most common types of mental health

problems

• the role of physical activity in the prevention and management of mental

health problems.

• identify the barriers to being active for women with mental health problems

and considerations that need to be made to provide inclusive sessions

• how to adapt marketing and promotional materials to attract women with

mental health problems to sessions

• where to find further information about mental health problems and

the role of sport and physical activity

Our vision:

Sport and physical activity is actively used to build resilience, to enable and support mental health recovery and to tackle stigma.

Definition of mental health

Mental health is defined as a state of well-being in which every

individual realises his or her own potential, can cope with the

normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and

is able to make a contribution to her or his community.

Source: World Health Organisation (2014)

Mental wellbeing Mental wellbeing describes your mental state – how you are feeling and

how well you can cope with day-to-day life. Our mental wellbeing can change, from

day to day, month to month or year to year, you may:

feel relatively confident in yourself – you value and accept yourself and judge

yourself on realistic and reasonable standards

feel and express a range of emotions

feel engaged with the world around you – you can build and maintain positive

relationships with other people and feel you can contribute to the community you

live in

live and work productively

cope with the stresses of daily life and manage times of change and uncertainty.

Activity: Fact or Fiction?

• 1 in 4 adults will experience a mental health problem

in any one year. Source: Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey, England (2007)

• 9 of 10 people experience stigma. Source: Time to Change (2008)

• On average, in the UK, 17 people take their own lives each

day. Source: ONS: Suicides in the United Kingdom Registrations (2013)

• 1 in 3 visits to the GP are mental health related. Source: NHS

England blog (2013)

• 1 million prescriptions for antidepressants are issued each

week. Source: Health and Social Care Information Centre (2014).

Spotlight on women!

• Women are more likely than men to have a common mental

health problem and are almost twice as likely to be diagnosed

with anxiety disorders. Source: Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey, England (2007),

Cambridge University (2016)

• In 2013, 6,233 suicides were recorded in the UK for people

aged 15 and older. Of these, 78% were male and 22% were

female. Source: ONS: Suicides in the United Kingdom Registrations (2013)

• 10% of mothers and 6% of fathers in the UK have mental

health problems at any given time. Source : Technical Report for SCIE

Research Review on the Prevalence and Incidence of Parental Mental Health Problems and the

Detection (2008)

Most common mental health problemsexperienced by women

Women

Depression

Anxiety

OCDEating

Disorders

Bi-polar disorder

Perinatal mental health refers to the

emotional, psychological and social

aspects of health during the time

from preconception up until two

years post birth. This period is the

highest risk time for women to

develop mental health problems

with a varying range of severity

and impact upon functioning.

www.mind.org.uk

Silence around issue

Wider society

Scared to reveal problem Lack of knowledge

Scared to raise the issue

Silence around issue

Increases perception

of stigma

Those with MHPs Stigma

Source: Time to Change

#smallthings

• You don’t need to be an expert!

• Everyone's experience of a

particular diagnosis will be different

• Don’t be afraid

• Don’t make assumptions

• Listen

• Take time and be patient

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFPvtthKmic

Why physical activity is especially important for those of us with mental health problems

Those of us with a mental health problem are:

twice as likely to die from heart disease

four times as likely to die from respiratory disease

on average, likely to die between 10 and 17 years earlier than

the general population, if we have schizophrenia or bipolar

disorder

Interplay between physical and mental healthPhysical activity has many positive benefits on mental

health.

Reduced risk of depression

Increased confidence / self-esteem

Reduced anxiety and happier moods – release of endorphins

Reduced feelings of stress – better balance of cortisol levels

Clearer thinking – breaking up racing thoughts

Better quality of sleep

What health experts say

• A primary intervention for mild-to-moderate

depression

• Effective in sessions of 45 minutes to 1 hour

• Recommended frequency of three sessions a

week over a 10–14 week period

Source: NICE. Depression in adults: The treatment and management of depression in adults

Outcomes

Physical health

Mental health

I’m starting to feel more flexible which has helped my arthritis, now I have more stamina to exercise longer. My high blood pressure is also starting to lower. I love boxing so much I have signed up to a Crisis boxing session

The support and encouragement you have provided to help me back into exercise has been invaluable. I feel so much more hopeful and much better in myself! And I’m really enjoying my new exercise routine! I never thought I’d be able to do this again, and wouldn’t have done so without Get Set To Go support – so, THANK YOU!

Outcomes Individual development

Social /community

development

Economic development

I've always loved football but never had the confidence to join a team, I went along to the training session full of anxiety but it was fantastic. They made me welcome and encouraged me, even though I was extremely unfit and not much kop. I've lost weight and got fitter and even scored my first ever goal 25 years after getting left out of the school team. My proudest possessions are now my football boots and the medals I've won. I can't begin to explain how this has helped my confidence and self-esteem“

1 participant has secured part-time employment

Cohesive communities working

with homelessness, addiction,

BME, LGBT, community sports

and physical activity providers,

health

What are we up against?

Activity: barriers and enablers

Psychological barriers

For example: Anxious in new situations or difficulties with decision making

Physical barriersFor example: Travelling to

venues or effects of medication

-

Social

For example: Difficult to make new friends or lack self-esteem

Technical barriers

For example: Lack understanding of rules or how to play

Barriers to getting started

70% of people with mental health problem told us having a MH

problem made it more difficult to take part in sport or physical

activity.

• More than half (55 per cent) said they are not ‘gym body ready’, saying they

are not members of sports clubs, gyms or leisure centres, because they are

embarrassed about their body shape or size.

• Nearly two thirds worry about taking part by themselves

• A third of respondents with memberships to sports clubs, gyms and leisure

centres concede they would not want anybody to know about their mental

health problem

Mental health awareness for sport and physical activity

3 hour CPD course

Supported by sports

coach UK

How to adapt marketing and promotional materials to attract

women with mental health problems to sessions

National communicationsWe have reached over

4 million people through our

campaigns so far

To date we have developed:

Physical activity, sport and mental health

booklet and online resources

Blogs and case studies

Get Set to Go plan and resources to

support local delivery

www.getsettogo.mind.org.uk

make it Easy make sure it fits into my life

reduce the ‘hassle factor’ of the experience

simplify messages

- tell me everything I know to get started including

what to wear and what to bring

- think about small adaptations to make it easier for

me to join in

make it Attractive attract attention – make it relevant and

appealing to me

incentivise me to start and reward me

afterwards

- work with partners that I trust

- make the marketing appealing to me

- ‘beginners’, ‘everyone welcome’, ‘mental

wellbeing’

make it Social use the power of social networks and norms

deliver in a place that’s within my normal boundaries

encourage people to make a commitment to others

- help me overcome barriers by small group work

- offer post work out tea and chat

- social media may support but may cause anxiety

for some

make it Timely prompt me when I’m likely to be most receptive

promote the immediate benefits

help me plan my actions

- consider time of day, mornings may not work

for me due to side effects of

medication/problems with sleep

- the episodic nature of my mental health

problems means I may not turn up for a few

weeks

- help celebrate small achievements e.g. turning

up each week, xx number of minutes/repetitions

Using EAST to consider your approach

Online peer support from our Elefriends community

Elefriends is a supportive online community

where you can be yourself. We all know what

it's like to struggle sometimes, and this is a

safe place to listen, share and be heard.

Our "Being active" theme helps community

members easily share and find content about

being active, to motivate, inspire and support

each other.

www.elefriends.org.uk

To find out more about

Elefriends click here to

watch our first animation

Summary

• Authentic – lived experience at the heart of the work

• Create the right environment

• Varied with opportunities tailored to individual needs

• Local – sessions in the heart of community

• Structure and hope

• Provide non-competitive and competitive opportunities

• Encourage participants to set their own goals

• Social and fun aspect

Work in partnership to get more people with mental health problems

active

Support available

What are the common signs of poor mental health?

Confusion

Disordered

thoughts Panic attack

Feeling out of

control

Talk of self-harm

Support from MindInfoline

0300 123 3393 (weekdays 9am - 6pm)

info@mind.org.uk

Website

www.mind.org.uk

Local Mind

http://shop.mind.org.uk/help/mind_in_your_area

Support for someone in crisisGP or other health professional

Samaritans

0845 790 9090 (24-hour helpline)

Samaritans.org

999

Specialist or local support e.g. CALM or Nightline

In summary…

• No-one expects you to be mental health experts Local support

National support

• What already works? Celebrate and replicate best practice

• What else can you do? How can you support each other?

Your own mental health is just as important. Look after it!

We are here to support you!

Find out more…. Contact us: sport@mind.org.uk

Visit: www.mind.org.uk/sport

Speak to Fiona about attending Mind regional networking

event for the East 28th June here in Herts!

Follow the conversation… @MindCharity

#GetSetToGo