A video released by Norwich City FC to mark World Mental Health Day has racked up millions of views online, with viewers and fans of the championship team describing it as “extremely powerful”.
In the video entitled, ‘Check in on those around you’ released by the English football club, two Norwich supporters are filmed attending regular matches together. One of the men appears to be quiet and reserved, and is less expressive than his friend, who appears jovial, animated, and makes a lot of noise celebrating when Norwich score:
𝗔𝘁 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀, 𝗶𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗲 𝗼𝗯𝘃𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗽𝗲, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝘁.
Check in on those around you.#WorldMentalHealthDay | #YouAreNotAlone | @samaritans pic.twitter.com/ZC50AH5thl
— Norwich City FC (@NorwichCityFC) October 10, 2023
The video then goes dark, and has a message for viewers, which reads, “At times, it can be obvious when someone is struggling to cope.” It goes on to show the quiet, less expressive football fan attending the game without his upbeat friend, as he lays his scarf over his friend’s seat, with the words, “But sometimes, the signs are harder to spot.”
The club urged people to “check in on those around you,” adding “#YouAreNotAlone. For immediate help: Call 999. Call 111 and select option 2. Or call Samaritans for free 24/7 on 116 123.” The release of the emotional video comes just days after Norwich wore the Samaritans logo during their weekend game with Coventry.
The gut-wrenching video has been hailed by thousands of people online, having been viewed millions of times in the past 24 hours.
“Still in awe of how good this message was relayed,” one X user said, while many said the video had left them “speechless” and “in tears.”
Many said it was the best advert for mental health they had seen, and the best piece of suicide awareness over the course of World Mental Health Day.
“This absolutely stopped me in my tracks and shed a tear afer it, not just down to the fact it hit close to home, but that it came from nowhere and sadly that’s what can happen,” X user @PaulEyezOnMe said.
Others said it was “exceptionally well done” with UEFA leading praise for the video.
“This is incredibly powerful. Well done @NorwichCityFC,”the Union of European Football Associations wrote on X.
British radio host and presenter Roman Kemp, who has been open about his struggles with depression and mental health lauded the short video as “the best bit of Mental Health Awareness I’ve ever seen,” as he encouraged fans to “watch to the end.”
This is so fantastic guys, honestly you’ve conveyed the truth so beautifully. Genuinely, thank you. https://t.co/zpSYmWHoRB
— roman kemp (@romankemp) October 10, 2023
The video was released as a new European Union study reported that Ireland is the hardest place to access mental health services among the 27 EU member states.
The research from the European Commission said that Ireland has the highest proportion of citizens who claim that themselves or a family member were faced with one or more issues when trying to access mental health services.
The poll found that 44 per cent of Irish citizens surveyed had difficulty in accessing treatment for a mental health issue – much higher than the EU average of 25 per cent. Four out of ten Irish people surveyed said they felt accessing mental health services here was too expensive.
The online Eurobarometer poll drew responses from almost 27,000 people across all EU member states, including over 1,000 people from Ireland.
Of Irish respondents, almost 75 per cent said they came across an issue when accessing mental health services, with many saying they had to endure long waiting lists or delays before they could receive a diagnosis or treatment.
The EU poll also revealed that 63 per cent of Irish respondents said that they had experienced either an emotional or psychosocial problem, such as depression or anxiety, in the previous 12 months.
This was the third highest rate among all EU citizens, behind Lithuania and Malta, and significantly above the EU average of 46 per cent.
It was also noted, however, that 49 per cent of Irish respondents said they had received no professional health to tackle mental health issues.