When I first heard about the Mental Health Champions programme at the ECB, it encouraged me to reflect on challenging past events and incidences within my own life, when I didn’t have the ability to call on such resource to help me through it. A mental health champion is someone who takes action to raise awareness of mental health and challenge stigma. In hindsight I know it could have massively supported me through those times, and as such it has provided me with the motivation to put myself forward and be that support for others. It was an opportunity I didn’t want to miss.
Given the sometimes challenging world we live in, combined with the fast-paced environment we work in, it’s important to recognise the toll that can have on yourself and others. In the world of cricket we can have extremely busy periods of time, particularly at the height of the season and as a newly formed Mental Health Champions alliance group we want to ensure that all staff feel supported during these times in particular.
The group training to become a Mental Health Champion was held virtually over three days and included a blend of learning, workshops, and scenario-based discussions. The mixture of different educational environments worked brilliantly to keep us all fully engaged and able to digest all the information being shared.
The training provided us with the additional skills needed to help promote positive mental wellbeing and adopt helpful practices within our everyday environments. The six key skills we gained through the duration of the training were to:
- Support and engage others to talk about mental health and wellbeing
- Listen to, and be a contact point for, people who may be struggling
- Signpost to appropriate internal and external support
- Help to embed positive changes within their surrounding environment
- Advocate for mental health
- Adopt role model behaviours supportive of positive mental health
One of my biggest personal challenges was ensuring I proactively recognise and work on keeping my own mental health at an optimum level, which is something I have previously struggled with. After completing the course I felt armed with being able to use a combination of tools and methods to feel more in control of myself and therefore be in the best possible position to support both myself and those around me. Some of these tools include:
- Understanding my triggers and being aware of things that may negatively impact my mental health
- Not being afraid to accept that “it’s ok to not be ok”
- Building a circle of trust with people I can talk to and being open with about how I’m feeling
- Being physically active and building this into my everyday routine
Following the training we were collectively aligned on a shared ambition to keep the Mental Health Champions at the forefront of everyone’s mind, as well as regularly having reflective practice sessions as a group. At its heart, we want to ensure there is openness, transparency, and a clear use of welcoming language to encourage others to join in the conversation.
It will of course be a transition over the coming year to truly embed the new champions, apply the learnings from the journey we’ve collectively been on, and ascertain the practicalities of implementing a sustainable support system for the organisation. This is however a huge leap in the right direction and I’m delighted to be part of it.
For more information about ECB’s Mental Health Champions, please email: !mentalhealthchampions@ecb.co.uk.