Mental health issues like anxiety, stress and depression seem to be making news headlines more and more in recent days with former world heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury being the latest with mental health worries to be the centre of attention.
Then there was the news that mental health trusts in England are still having their budgets cut, despite government assurances they would be funded on a par with physical healthcare, figures suggest.
Analysis by the King’s Fund think tank, reports the BBC, suggests 40% of the 58 trusts saw budgets cut in 2015-16. It found six of them had seen budgets cut three years in a row.
That does not help matters and is a cause for concern for many in the health field and also for family and friends of those with mental health concerns.
Tyson is the latest boxer to suffer mental health issues, Ricky Hatton, Oscar de la Hoya and Frank Bruno – all larger-than-life characters in the ring – fought demons away from the lights.
Former world featherweight champion Barry McGuigan has called for a foundation to be set up to help boxers away from the ring.
In other sports, cricket has had several high-profile instances of mental health issues with Jonathan Trott, Marcus Trescothick and Michael Yardy all leaving England tours early.
The Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) has mental health ambassadors who help carry out pre-season visits to all 18 first-class counties and the organisation’s Mind Matters campaign includes a video tutorial to help players identify when they or their team-mates are vulnerable to depression or addictive behaviour.
In Rugby Union, each Premiership club and London Irish in the Championship has a player development manager who helps them with all aspects of life outside rugby. There are also courses on personal resilience and a confidential 24-hour helpline where counselling is available around the clock. In the coming months, the Rugby Players Association, will launch a campaign called ‘Lift the Weight’, focusing on players’ mental well-being and sources of support.
And in football, after the death of Wales manager Gary Speed in November 2011, the Professional Footballers Association (PFA) sent its members guidelines on depression that included comic-book style storylines of stressful situations they might find themselves in.
The PFA also provides a 24-hour helpline backed up by a network of 70 trained counsellors and, for members who need more help, funds residential treatment at the Sporting Chance clinic founded by former England captain Tony Adams.
Many of these instances could see the bodies using clinical hypnotherapy to deal with anxiety, stress and depression as hypnotherapy has a proven record in providing successful treatment for these mental issues.
The National Council for Hypnotherapy (NCH), with more than 1,800 qualified therapists across the UK on its register, has members who offer special deals to organisations, businesses or teams for stress reduction schemes.
Stress is one of the major reasons people take time off or have lowered performance levels and investing in stress-reduction schemes companies can increase productivity and performance, says the NCH.
“Today, about one in seven people are suffering from stress or anxiety at any one time in the UK,” comments the NCH. “And while some people manage, more and more people are showing signs of over-anxiety, which leads to stress, which can make a significant impact on the quality of life and wellbeing.”
In dealing with individuals, the hypnotherapist will take detailed history and then discuss the goal and what that person would like to see or feel at the end of the sessions. Using a range of different techniques, the therapist will then relax the person and work with the subconscious mind to change attitudes by getting to the root of the problem.
After a session the person being treated usually feels uplifted, lighter and very relaxed. Often change is very subtle, as the hypnotherapist will be working with the subconscious mind, and a very positive shift in feeling and reaction to certain previously stressful situations can be noticed.
By using the NCH directory, you can make contact with a hypnotherapist near you to explore treatment opportunities.