By George Speaking about mental health is vital
It’s not unusual for me to spend the odd Sunday afternoon at the SMISA Stadium.
Normally it’ll be for a rearranged televised game for St Mirren.
However, on this year’s World Mental Health Day I attended an event held by St Mirren Charitable Foundation.
It was humbling to listen to the stories people told, and to listen to the lived experience of people with mental health issues and families supporting those living with it.
Recent events have highlighted to me that I should share some more about this experience.
Although it is good to celebrate and highlight World Mental Health Day, it is important that we recognise the importance of consistently talking about struggles we might be having.
During my time as an elected member attitudes towards mental health issues have improved dramatically.
Thankfully we no longer live in a world where people are asked to “snap out of it” or “give themselves a good shake”.
Unfortunately I am from a generation of males, who if I’m honest, still retain some of those types of thoughts with regards to our own mental health.
It isn’t really something we can talk openly and freely about.
But for many dealing with mental health issues, it is football that can make a difference.
There was much talk at the event of the “power of football” and how it can have a positive effect on people. Being physically fit as well as mentally fit is very important for us all.
There are two particular stories that we heard from that will stay with me for a very long time.
We heard from Philip Mitchell who told us the tragic story of his son Chris who was a professional footballer for Falkirk, and Chris’s struggle with his mental health.
Here was a story of a young man living the dream. Playing professional football and doing what he loved. But his career and life were cut short because of the mental health issues he suffered from.
Philip explained how as a player, if Chris was ever physically injured on the field an army of health professionals would ensure he was nursed back to health. The same unfortunately could not be said for his mental well-being.
After Chris’s suicide Philip and his family set up the Chris Mitchell Foundation to ensure that people heard Chris’s story and to lend support to others who are struggling.
It is a very powerful story but more was to come when Aaron Connolly stood up and explained his story of his struggles with mental health.
Aaron was another young man living the dream many of us had of playing professional football.
He had a very successful career outside of football, and often used work as a way to ignore his mental health struggles.
Aaron told us candidly about his suicidal thoughts and how it affected both him and his young family.
He told us how important football was to him as part of his coping mechanism as he went on to create Time to Tackle, a social enterprise tackling mental health and the stigma attached to it.
I would urge anyone who is struggling to reach out and make use of the services available throughout Paisley and Renfrewshire, and not suffer in silence.
Incredibly powerful and strong stories that bring it all home.
But let’s not forget that we were there for the No Substitute for life event and the seven a side football tournament that was played all day.
The tournament founded by Paul Cardona has been going now for seven years and is a perfect example of men coming together and doing something they love and talking about the stigmas attached to mental health in our society.
So if anyone tells you our national sport is just a game you can tell them from me it’s something much more important than that.
If used properly football can quite literally save lives.