Building a Home for Respect: Panel 3: The Use of Sport in Fostering Mental Health and Wellbeing

The IGF Conversation is designed to promote the sharing of best practice on a range of relevant subjects within the Invictus Community through a combination of either online webinars and/or in person symposia. This iteration of the IGF Conversation is entitled ‘The Invictus Community: Enabling a Home for Respect’ and draws on the central theme of Invictus Games Düsseldorf 2023 of emphasising the common ground between the military and their respective societies and how they can both support and learn from each other.

The event was moderated by well-known German TV sports commentator and presenter Franziska Schenk who has been working for the German TV Channels ARD and MDR since her retirement from professional speed skating.

Panel 3: The Use of Sport in Fostering Mental Health and Wellbeing:

• Challenges around mental health are consistently identified within our community and this last session enabled members of the community to share how sport specifically has aided them to overcome such difficulties.
• We were joined by British Paralympic long jumper and sprinter Stef Reid MBE, a triple Paralympic medallist and five-time world record holder. Stef outlined how sport was the catalyst to addressing her challenges with mental health after her accident and the key lessons which emerged from confronting her life-changing injury.
• We were also joined by Rachel Kerrigan, a Boeing employee and former Invictus Games competitor who experienced significant PTSD after her service. Rachel explained that while competing at the Invictus Games quite literally saved her life, it also enabled her to move forward in other areas which she never thought possible. Rachel emphasised how mental health is not a weakness but a strength and both speakers focused on the importance of accepting your injury and your new sense of self.