A WHEELCHAIR basketball coach believes that great coaching has helped her to overcome her mental health struggles.

Anna Jackson, 46, a former wheelchair basketball international who represented Great Britain at the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games and now coaches the Cheshire Phoenix Wheelchair Basketball Club in Ellesmere Port, attributes her experience of coaching and being coached to improving her symptoms of anxiety and depression.

First triggered by knee pain which prevented a future career in the RAF and subsequently led to her giving up playing hockey while at university, Jackson's depression began to ease when she received wheelchair basketball coaching.

Jackson, who lives in Upton, said: "I am a true believer that great coaching, combined with physical activity, is a crucial factor in helping me manage my mental health.

"The confidence I have gained through coaching, first as a player being coached and now as a coach to others, has enabled me to become better equipped with overcoming difficulties of everyday life.

"I feel very privileged to be in a position where as a coach who has first-hand experience of mental health, I am able to understand and help others who may be suffering from similar issues to mine."

Jackson spoke during this year's World Mental Health Day, an annual campaign which aims to raise awareness of mental health and promote the support on offer to help those suffering with their mental health.

Jackson, who last year became the Disability Coach of the Year at the UK Coaching Awards, is now a qualified mental health first aider working to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health.

Research from UK Coaching shows that 71 per cent of adults who receive coaching believe it has helped to improve their mental health and well-being.

UK Coaching has partnered with MIND and Public Health England to produce an animation and infographic to help coaches better understand what mental well-being is and provide coaches with the tools to promote good mental well-being through their coaching.

For more information, visit ukcoaching.org.