Let’s get physical – and break down barriers to mental wellbeing
(note: this article refers to an event that is now finished; Get Moving lasted for one week in Oct 09)

I work for the charity MIND and I am one of the organisers of Get Moving Week, a project aiming to promote the link between exercise and wellbeing through physical activity events held right across England.

The project is part of Time to Change, England's most ambitious campaign to end the discrimination faced by people who experience mental health problems, as well as improve the nation's wellbeing.

Research has shown that social contact is the most effective way of challenging stigma. So we’ve been encouraging activists around the country to hold physical activity events that provide an opportunity for social contact between people with experience of mental health problems and people without that experience.

The highlight of this year’s Get Moving week (this year held 3-11 October), was MINDS’s flagship event Get Moving and Dance in London’s Regent's Park. In addition to organizing this huge event, our small team (just three of us working full-time on the project) has been furiously promoting all the Get Moving events.

Our project will involve over 27,000 participants at almost 300 events. We rely on an army of willing and capable local organizers, activists, and volunteers. Because mental health problems are so commonplace (1 in 4 of us will experience one in our lifetime) and yet so poorly understood by most people, it means that there is an incredible number of people whose lives are affected first by mental health, and then by the stigma and discrimination they experience. But this also means there is a huge resource of people who want to get involved and spend their time and energy on the campaign, and their commitment is inspiring.

There are many ways for people to get involved in Time to Change and Get Moving, from participating in events to organising your own. You can find out more about what you can do by visiting http://www.time-to-change.org.uk/get-involved or join our Facebook group http://www.facebook.com/timetochange