NORWICH City Football Club are delighted to welcome back ex-Canaries midfielder Cedric Anselin, Lynn Evans from Norwich Mind and Andrea Bland and Pippa Hoskin from Wellbeing Norfolk & Waveney to Carrow Road as our Kare Plus Community Heroes for the visit of Derby County.

Cedric, 39, recently spoke out and shared his story of trying to battle depression for 14 years.   

He wants others to come forward and admit that they need to take that first step and seek help, having turned to former footballer Clarke Carlisle which made him realise he needed to speak to someone and promoted him to arrange a GP appointment.

Cedric was originally on loan at Norwich towards the end of the 1998-99 season before signing a permanent deal in the summer of 1999 ahead of leaving the club in 2001.


A popular midfielder in his time at City, he told canaries.co.uk: "To be in front of the fans on Monday means the world to me, I have some fantastic memories of Carrow Road.

"I have no words to describe how happy and excited I am to be going to back. It was always a pleasure to play in front of the fans and hopefully the day will stay with me for the rest of my life.

"Depression and anxiety isn't a weakness, it is an illness that can affect many of us but with help you can look forward in life. It is very important to contact your GP or even talk to close friends and family.

"I couldn’t have done it without the support from Kevin Frostic, Matt Halliday and my ex-wife Lynsey and my boys. It has been my secret for 14 years and you cannot do it in your own so I urge people to get help if they need it."

Norwich Mind is one of the many local Minds that are a part of the National Mind which helps support over 375,000 people across England and Wales.

"I wanted to work at Norwich Mind as I wanted to spread awareness of mental health issues and to tell people that it’s nothing to be ashamed off," said Quality and Business Support Manager, Lynn. 

"It can affect anybody and to try and get the message across that help is here for everyone."


Wellbeing Norfolk & Waveney and Wellbeing Suffolk offer help and support to improve wellbeing and manage stress, low mood and anxiety.

Their service is provided by a partnership of NSFT, Relate and three local mind organisations - with Pippa and Andrea employed by Great Yarmouth and Waveney Mind.

"We want to let everyone know that they won’t feel like that forever and I try to help them through my experience and teach them the techniques I learned," explained Peer Support Worker, Andrea.
 

"We offer social groups, walks and one-to-one talks to help support everybody that needs it and to make them reach their goals that they set," added Lead Peer Support worker, Pippa.

The service self-referral number for Wellbeing Norfolk & Waveney is 0300 123 1503 and the Norwich Mind and Wellbeing helpline is 08088 020 288 which is open Monday to Friday 4pm-midnight and 10am-midnight on the weekends.

You can also find support and information about mental health on www.norwichmind.org.uk and www.wellbeingnands.co.uk if you are afraid to speak to someone.