Football pitches light up at both ends, candles shouldn’t

Some regular readers of this blog will know I am not a great football fan. Snooker and climbing are the only two sports I have any interest in. I’ve never supported a football team in my entire life. I have only ever been to one football match; that was in Swansea, when I took a group of service users, as part of my nurse training – we did things differently in the 1970’s. That said, I have been inside both Manchester’s football teams’ stadiums, fairly recently for a Coldplay concert and the other occasion was an earlier Rolling Stones concert. The latter I also saw play at Liverpool’s Anfield stadium on their return to the UK last year.

However, some things do change. I still don’t have any interest in football, but J does, and her football team is Liverpool; a team she has supported all her adult life. This came in handy when we went to the Rolling Stones concert at Anfield, as she knew all the cheap, easy, and safe places to park the car. So, over the past few months, on a regular basis I have found myself watching a Liverpool football game on TV. I’m fortunate as J can provide 90+ minutes of non-stop running commentary on what is happening, who has taken a dive, missed an easy shot at goal, whether a tackle was a foul or not, and interestingly (apparently) who might be offside.

Sprinkled through these football-related observations, will be comments about some of the players’ abilities, but more often, there will be a comment about the Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp. Now I know next to nothing about football, but I can recognise the transcendental leadership approach inherent in all that Klopp does. Once you get past those larger than life, whiter than white teeth, the man is simply an incredible inspirational person. Under his leadership, Liverpool FC has won many competitions, he has rebuilt the faith of fans in their club’s ability, and developed a strong squad of players, both for today and for the future. He’s a man who epitomises a compassionate and a kindness-oriented approach to relationships. To say that J has the upmost admiration for Klopp would be an understatement.

So, I wasn’t surprised that our entire household went into a deep shock when, late last week, Jurgen Klopp announced his retirement from the game and Liverpool FC at the end of this season. We are all currently wearing black armbands and talking in hushed tones, the drawing room curtains are closed and our Union Jack flag is flying at half-mast. A cloud of gloom has descended upon the house.

I’m not sure why. Klopp has done great things for many others, something we can celebrate and be grateful for. Now he is doing something for himself. And for that we should also be grateful. His given reason for leaving now is that he’s running out of energy and is becoming burnt out. Burnout is not in itself a mental health condition, nor is stress. Most of us have experienced the impact of stress in our lives. Indeed, in some circumstances, stress can serve a helpful purpose.

Burnout is not just feeling exhausted after a busy day at work. Many of us have experienced that kind of tiredness. Burnout is a state of total mental, physical, and emotional exhaustion. You can literally grind to a complete halt. Speaking from personal experience, it is not a great place to find yourself at. I have been there a couple of times in my life, and so perhaps understand where Klopp is coming from. My admiration for Klopp’s decision is that he has taken it, before he found himself in that dark place. In his words ‘we are not young rabbits anymore, and we don’t jump as high as we [once] did’. Pausing and reflecting on what might be causing you stress in your life and exposing you to burnout, is a hard thing to do. But as Klopp is demonstrating, it is critical if we are to enjoy continued good mental health and wellbeing.

Bringing together four charities from across the UK, who collectively have been supporting people with their mental health for over 50 years, Mental Health UK last week published their benchmark report on Burnout in the UK – you can find their excellent report here. The statistics are sobering. Some 91% of the participants reported that they experienced high or extreme levels of stress and/or pressure in the past year. Sadly some 24% of folk felt unable to manage the stress and pressure they experienced in the workplace. Some one in five adults took time off work due to mental health problems caused by stress and pressure they experienced in the previous 12 months. Reading the report and thinking about Jurgen Klopp’s decision has made me more determined to ensure we are doing everything we at GMMH to recognise and support colleagues, who might be struggling with stress and pressure.  

One of the things that I sometimes find stressful is the daily commute. Depending on my week, I can drive up to 500 miles. So, imagine my delight upon reading a great little article from the Queen’s Nursing Institute last week: The Power of Example – Small Sustainable Swaps for Big Impact – have a read here. There was one contributor to the paper who was reducing her carbon footprint by eating no meat. She noted that having just one vegetarian meal a week is the equivalent to not driving your car for 348 miles! As a long-time committed vegetarian, eating at least one vegetarian meal a day – I might now be in danger of travelling back in time, and doing away with my commute, enjoying a completely stress-free life.