How MPs use hobbies to maintain their mental health

Brought to you by Time to Change

If your day job entailed being attacked by your colleagues, the national media and half of Twitter, how mentally healthy would you be?

It's difficult to imagine someone else's life, and its stresses, but that's a simple one to get your head around. JOE spoke to three MPs about the hobbies they use to maintain their mental health.

Rosena Allin-Khan, Labour, boxing

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan is an energetic and motivated Labour MP, representing Tooting. A qualified doctor, in her time off she picks up 12 hour shifts in A&E at St George's hospital. Those skills have also been deployed in aid missions to refugee camps in Bangladesh for Rohingya Muslims, persecuted and ethnically cleansed from Myanmar. The MP admits, she spends too little time on herself, but training sessions at Balham Boxing Club help level her out. "The mental health benefits of boxing are actually quite profound. Healthy body means healthy lives and that equals healthy minds. But it’s not just about practicing sport. It’s about having coaches, having people who are able to spot when somebody is not right or needs help. "Not everybody feels like they can go to their parents or teachers. It’s about having an adult that you trust that you see on a regular basis who makes you feel safe, you can go and say to them: 'I think I’ve got depression, I think I’ve got anxiety, I’ve got an eating disorder, I’m self-harming.' "It’s about camaraderie, the team, being together at a show and knowing that it’s you and your team that are going in, batting for each other."

Pete Wishart, SNP, playing the keyboard

'Loch Lomond' by Runrig is the closing song of nearly every Scottish nightclub, wedding reception and party. Pete Wishart played the keyboard in the band at times in front of 120,000 people, as he did when they supported Genesis. When Pete was elected he thought he'd leave music behind but soon realised the importance of sound, and accompanying band, to his happiness. "I’ve got an unusual relationship with music, when I first became an MP I was determined to let it all go and I sort of said to myself 'I’ll never play again, I’m a politician, I’m serious guy representing all these people in Perth and Perthshire.' And it sort of fell away for a number of years, then we got MP4 together and I started to get interested again. "It was a bit of fun, MP4 is never going to bother the charts or real music fans, but it was something quite nice to work together with other guys again, and the guys in MP4 are actually very musically talented. "I’ve always made sure I have a keyboard wherever I am, whether it’s my place in Westminster or Perth, sometimes it’s really nice to get that out and just hammer out some chords, you know. It lets you forget about all the other things you do, and it also reminds me that I’m more than a politician. This is the thing that defined me as a person, it was the most important thing, and nothing will ever equal that – my passion, my interest for music. So sometimes it’s nice to go back there and rediscover that side of yourself, explore that side of your personality. "We’ve all become great mates from MP4, we’re all from different parties and there’s a camaraderie and a support network that emerges from a band. You’re there to support each other and if you work together perfectly you can make great music and great sound together."

Nicky Morgan, Conservative, running

Loughborough MP Nicky Morgan is subject to more vitriol than most. Sometimes on the front page of national newspapers. She enjoys long distance running to decompress and decide her path forward. "I often find, if I’ve got a problem, or something I’m trying to work out actually it’s amazing how when you’re out running you kind of pick away at it, some times you just forget about it. You come back and feel a bit more positive about life. That’s what I should do, that’s the email I should send, that’s the phone call I should make, you can cut through it. "I do think it’s really important, everybody will find different ways to look after themselves, and for me running is a really important part of that."

For more information about mental health campaign Time to Change, visit their website.