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Gordon Ramsay and Alec Stewart join Chelsea FC to kick off Get Moving
Posted Wednesday 7 October 2009
Chef Gordon Ramsay and former England cricket captain Alec Stewart joined Ron Harris at the Chelsea vs Liverpool match on Sunday to kick off Time to Change’s Get Moving week (3 to 11 October), a nationwide campaign to end mental health stigma. The three avid blues fans took to the pitch to present a trophy to another winning team – the victors of Chelsea’s football tournament for people with mental health problems.
Chelsea organised the three-week tournament in support of Get Moving week, which is involving 30,000 people in hundreds of physical exercise events all over the country. Exercise has been proven to lift moods and boost self-esteem and can be as effective as antidepressents in combating feelings of depression.
The campaign is part of Time to Change, the anti-stigma campaign run by Mind and Rethink, and aims to bring people with and without mental health problems together to promote better understanding and tackle the stigma surrounding mental illness.
By working together, Chelsea and Time to Change hope they can encourage men to get active to boost their wellbeing and help tackle the stigma around mental health that often prevents men from seeking help when they need it. Men are just as likely to experience depression as women but half as likely to speak out about how they feel, thought to contribute the fact that men account for three quarters of all suicides.
Gordon Ramsay, one of Chelsea’s most recognised supporters, said:
People don’t realise how common mental health illness is and that one in four people will experience mental illness in any one year. I want to offer my support to help stop mental health stigma being society’s last taboo.
Up your activity levels by attending an event during Mind and Rethink’s Get Moving Week from 3 to 11 October to improve your mental wellbeing and combat mental health discrimination – find out what’s happening near you at www.getmovingweek.org.uk.
On Friday 9 October, Time to Change are launching Leveling the Playing Field, a report that focuses upon the contribution that five sporting heroes have made to mental health. People such as Dame Kelly Holmes and Ronnie O’Sullivan are included, both who have bravely spoken out about their experiences of mental illness to help change public attitudes.