Health

William, Harry, Kate and Meghan appear in ‘national takeover’ TV advert launching mental health campaign



William, Harry, Kate and Meghan will voice a new mental health campaign during a “national takeover” that will be simultaneously broadcast to millions of television viewers tonight.

The royal quartet will narrate the short film launching the Every Mind Matters campaign – an initiative from Public Health England and the NHS to empower people to manage the early symptoms of poor mental health.

The three-minute video, featuring the likes of Gillian Anderson and Davina McCall, will be screened simultaneously during ad breaks on Sky, Channel 4, ITV, Channel 5 and MTV at 8.45pm on Monday.

It will be introduced by presenter Clare Balding before being shown to an estimated 10.3 million UK viewers in what is believed to be a “broadcaster first”.

Narrating the video, William begins: “Everyone knows that feeling, when life gets on top of us.

“All over the country, millions of us face challenges to our mental health – at all ages – at all intensities, and for all sorts of reasons.

“We feel stressed, low, anxious, or have trouble sleeping. Me, you…”

Harry continues: “…your brother, your mother, your colleague, or your neighbour. Waiting, wondering, hoping, hurting.

“We think there’s nothing to be done. Nothing we can do about it.”

Meghan then counters: “But that’s so wrong. There are things we can do. From today, there’s a new way to help turn things around. Every Mind Matters will show you simple ways to look after your mental health.”

Kate continues: “It’ll get you started with a free online plan designed to help you deal with stress, boost your mood, improve your sleep and feel more in control.”

The platform, which has been endorsed by the Royal College of GPs, will allow users to take a health quiz and offer them a personalised “mind plan” with practical tips around managing anxiety, low mood, sleep and stress.

Health officials hope it will empower people to practically manage their symptoms to stop their mental health escalating, which would in time reduce pressure on clinical services and free up capacity.

The website also points users to existing apps which can help them keep track of good habits to protect their wellbeing.

It comes as a new Public Health England survey of more than 3,000 adults in England found that 83 per cent of respondents had experienced early signs of poor mental health in the last year including feeling anxious, stressed, having low mood or trouble sleeping

Over a quarter of these waited longer than six months before taking action, with more than half reporting coping mechanisms including smoking, drinking or unhealthy eating and avoiding social situations.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the project harnesses the “power of modern technology to do good when we know it also can help contribute to some of these problems”.

Additional reporting by PA Media



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