Ulster Rugby vs Exeter Chiefs

TACKLE YOUR FEELINGS

On Tuesday 4th October at Kingspan Stadium the Irish Rugby Union Players Association (IRUPA) hosted a panel discussion as part of their Tackle Your Feelings campaign which aims to break down the stigma around mental wellbeing.

The campaign features professional rugby players leading by example, talking about personal challenges they faced off the pitch and how they overcame them. Tommy Bowe was the Ulster representative on the panel discussion where he was joined by Ireland Women’s player Hannah Tyrell who, as a Tackle Your Feelings Ambassador, has spoken to groups across Ireland about her story. Tommy Bowe, who is often considered the poster boy of Irish Rugby, spoke openly and honestly and gave his reasons for lending support to the campaign, “I had heard about the campaign and watched some really powerful stories on the TYF website and I think the message IRUPA are trying to get across is that the campaign is for everybody, it is encouraging people to tackle these problems at an early stage and not let them get to a stage where you really need to seek professional help. I think mental health has become a huge area of concern, especially in sport. It has always been something that has been a part of sport and now it is becoming a talking point, people are actually able to open up and talk about it and we are trying to lose that stigma of not being able to express how you are feeling. As a professional sports person you go through good days and bad days and for me personally I have gone through 12 months out being injured, at times questioning if I will ever make it back onto the pitch. I have gone through good days where things progress really well then all of a sudden you have to take two steps back and it is hard to try and keep going but I have found that having coping mechanisms really helps. The ability to talk to people you trust and also setting yourself small goals to get yourself to the main

goal can really help and I just wanted to try and pass the message on.” Tommy, like the other professional players who are fronting up the campaign recognises that society has to break down the stigmas around mental wellbeing and encourage young people to talk, he offers this advice to young people who may be struggling, “Go back to your strengths, if you are a young guy coming up through the ranks who feels like they have the world at their feet, there will be times when you get knocked down, and when that does happen it is a case of going back to your strengths, go back to what you are good at and build your confidence back up and try to put a smile on your face.” Tommy showed a serious side during the panel discussions but let us into a secret weapon he has for times when he is needing a boost, “I try to walk round with a smile on my face, I might have a million things going on in the back of my head, but I think if you smile and your quite upbeat it can bring out positive feelings and it can help the people around you as well.” The campaign is specifically aimed at maximising mental wellbeing rather than resolving mental illness. Just like physical health, emotional health can be improved by tackling pressures before they reach crisis stage. The Tackle Your Feelings campaign has an excellent website which hosts a number of practical resources to help people tackle their own feelings as well as Ambassador videos which give a real insight into the challenges that even our top rugby players face. For more information please visit www.tackleyourfeelings.com

IRUPA

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