The former rugby player aiming to improve kids mental health through exercise
Jamie Acton has launched his own app, Banish, which allows children to tracking their emotions and undertake workouts that will help them
Last updated 10th Feb 2022
A former Rugby League player is now hoping to make a difference after his mental health suffered when he stopped playing.
Former Leigh Centurions and Workington Town forward Jamie Acton is now taking what he’s learnt and is helping kids in Wigan improve their mental health through the medium of sport and exercise.
The former rugby player told Greatest Hits Radio that his mental health suffered after he retired from the sport.
Jamie Acton said: "As a bi-product of me having to retire from rugby, I always had mental health problems that I suffered with throughout my career, and retiring from rugby, losing my sense of identity, my purpose, I had to deal with all of these really quickly. It felt like I got blindsided by a train.
"I went into a deep depression. I attempted suicide a few times. It was a really dark dark place."
"Exercise can be a tool people can utilise for their mental health and not just their physical health"
It’s feared hundreds of thousands of kids across the UK will be struggling with their emotions post-pandemic – as they’ve been away from the classroom, friends and family.
The former rugby league player is now running a new course at Wigan youth Zone, encouraging kids and young people to open about how they feel.
Jamie Acton has launched his own app, Banish, which allows children to tracking their emotions and actually undertake workouts that will help them.
He believes that exercise is kids should be better educated about the power of exercise.
The former rugby player said: "I found that exercise had this ability to take out my pain for a short period. It was understanding that and recognising that I had been leveraging exercise subconsciously while I've been playing rugby my whole life as a way of actually feeling okay.
"Exercise can be a tool people can utilise for their mental health and not just their physical health. I believe both are very much intertwined. If we can start teaching kids from a young age just how important it can be, then we can create that sense of empowerment."