Mental Health Charter for Sport and Recreation
From elite sport through to grass-roots participation, physical activity and sport can be used to reduce stigma and start positive conversations about mental health.
That’s why Burton Albion Community Trust and Burton Albion Community Trust are backing The Sport and Recreational Alliance and Professional Players Federation mental health charter.
As a signatory of the Mental Health Charter for Sport and Recreation we are committed to taking action across the following six areas:
- Use our sport to promote good mental health and wellbeing
- Adopt good mental health policies and best practices
- Appoint ambassadors and role models
- Tackle discrimination on the grounds of mental health
- Support a pan-sport platform to develop and share resources and best practice
- Throughout all of this we should regularly monitor our performance
Introduction to Football and Mental Health
Why is mental health an issue for football?
One in four people will experience a mental health problem in any year. Over 10% of the population have depression at any one time. There are millions of people involved in grassroots football, right now, with mental health problems. The examples of Robert Enke, Frank Bruno and Marcus Trescothick show that mental health is relevant to everyone in sport, even at the elite level.
Mainstream clubs should comfortable including people with mental health problems, in training, matches and socially. We want to make coaches and team mates confident and comfortable about talking about mental health problems, in the same way that people discuss physical injuries.
What can football do to help?
Sport can help in people’s recovery, help to mange symptoms and can radically improve the quality of people’s lives. Whether it’s in mainstream, community football clubs, or in specialised sport and mental health projects, football can deliver massive benefits. There are three key ways that football can help:
- Delivering social inclusion
- Helping physical health
- Improving people’s mental health
For some people, physical activity can be as powerful as medicine or therapy. In 2010 the Mental Health Foundation said that for people with depression, “Comparative studies have shown that exercise can be as effective as medication or psychotherapy”. Exercise releases natural chemicals like adrenaline and serotonin. It also helps to release muscle tension, raises the body temperature and causes tiredness. These all help relieve stress and provide relaxation – this is of particular benefit for people with mental health problems.
http://www.thefa.com/football-rules-governance/policies/equality/mental-health
Burton and District MIND
Burton and District MIND are an independent charity providing services to East Staffordshire.
We provide confidential, high quality services for individuals, carers and families experiencing emotional or mental health problems. We aim to do this in a safe, caring, non-judgmental and supportive environment.
For more information about our services click here to email info@burtonmind.co.uk or call 01283 566696
We welcome referrals from community, voluntary, statutory, private sectors and other agencies.
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