Mental health is as important as maintaining good physical health.

A new survey reveals more than eight in ten (83%) people have experienced early signs of poor mental health including feeling anxious, stressed, having low mood or trouble sleeping in the last 12 months. While these can be a natural response to life’s challenges, they can become more serious if people don’t take action – and many wait too long.

Public Health England, in partnership with the NHS, today launches Every Mind Matters to help people take simple steps to look after their mental health, improve their mental wellbeing and support others.

Every Mind Matters shows people the simple steps they can take to be better prepared for life’s ups and downs. The new platform, which has been endorsed by the Royal College of General Practitioners (RGCP), will enable people to create a personalised action plan recommending a set of self-care actions to deal with stress, boost mood, improve sleep and feel in control.

A special film to promote Every Mind Matters has been written by Richard Curtis and directed by Rankin, narrated by Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and The Duke and Duchess of Sussex. It shows how we can all look after our mental health and has been aired at 8:45pm on Monday the 7th October across ITV, Channel 4 and Sky channels. On the night, Together TV has premiered the 60 second film on linear TV and will be airing the 3 minute version from today onwards.

The powerful film features a range of people whose lives have been affected by poor mental health, including a cast of well-known faces: Gillian Anderson, Glenn Close, Freddie Flintoff, Professor Green, Davina McCall, Jordan Stephens,Will Young, Sir Bradley Wiggins, Nadiya Hussain, Sarah Taylor, Rob Beckett, Katie Piper, Joe Sugg and Alastair Campbell.

The launch follows eighteen months of planning and local and regional piloting, developed with clinical and academic experts, national mental health charities and input from people with experience of poor mental health. Clinically-assured by the NHS, Every Mind Matters is evidence-based and it shows people how to build simple changes into their daily lives – such as reframing unhelpful thoughts, breathing exercises and increasing physical activity.