Student appears in Every Mind Matters royal ad

A STUDENT from Oxford has appeared in a star-studded video narrated by members of the royal family to promote a new mental health campaign.

Simon Riley, who studies at Oxford Brookes University, can be seen in the film, which was broadcast to millions on television last week, alongside celebrities including Gillian Anderson, Glenn Close, Freddie Flintoff, Joe Sugg and Alastair Campbell.

Written by Richard Curtis and narrated by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, it was created to promote Every Mind Matters.

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Public Health England (PHE) has launched the new national health education campaign with the aim for one million adults in England to become better informed and equipped to look after their mental health and support others.

Mr Riley, 20, started to experience periods of low mood and depression during his final two years of school.

The stress due to school pressure caused him to drop one course and eventually out of university. However, in 2018, he said he realised that he needed to talk to someone and not bottle up his emotions.

Mr Riley added: “While I do still struggle, I have a great group of friends that I can talk to if I am ever feeling anxious or low.

“Also, I participate in a range of physical activity such as endurance events to help maintain my mental health which I think helps a lot.”

A survey by Public Health England revealed 81 per cent of people in the South East have experienced early signs of poor mental health including feeling anxious, stressed, having low mood or trouble sleeping in the last 12 months.

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The Every Mind Matters launch comes after eighteen months of planning, and was developed with clinical and academic experts, national mental health charities and input from people with experience of poor mental health.

It is backed by a coalition of mental health charities and champions, including Mind, Mental Health First Aid England, Time to Change, Heads Together and the Samaritans.

The new resource is available for the public and for GPs to advise their patients to use.

Angela Baker, deputy director for health and wellbeing at PHE South East said:“It’s really important to look after our mental health just as we look after our physical health.

“We’re aware of steps we can take to look after our physical health but many of us are not as knowledgeable or proactive as we could be when it comes to our mental health. So, Every Mind Matters gives us all some simple tools to help manage our wellbeing.”

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She added: “It’s important to be honest with ourselves and remember that anxiety, stress, low mood and trouble sleeping can affect everyone. Every Mind Matters aims to help people to better handle life’s ups and downs.”

For more information visit everymindmatters.co.uk.