Interested In Making An Impact? How Can You Support Mental Health Awareness Week?

This week in the UK is Mental Health Awareness Week, which runs from Monday, May 13 through Friday, May 19. This national programme works to increase public awareness of mental health issues, including prevalent ailments like anxiety and depression. The several ways individuals can participate in the effort to promote good change are detailed in this article.

What Is Mental Health Awareness Week?

Since 2001, Mental Health Awareness Week has been hosted by the Mental Health Foundation (MHF). Every year, a different theme is selected to be the week’s focal point. For instance, anxiety was the topic in 2023. Hence, the subject provides participants with a worthy cause to focus on each year, even if the foundation and the campaign both seek to raise awareness about all mental health conditions. This makes sure that every illness or problem receives equal attention because they should all be brought to people’s attention.

What Is This Year’s Theme?

This year’s Mental Health Awareness Week has “Movement: Moving More For Our Mental Health” as its focus. Engaging in physical activity is beneficial to both our bodies and thoughts. With that in mind, we want you to move your way by finding something that moves your body and mind.

Exercise can help us avoid physical ailments and has been shown to lower anxiety and despair. Sadly, the average age of death for those with mental illness is 20 years lower than for the general population, and this is frequently due to preventable physical illness. This population is more susceptible to diabetes, heart disease, colon cancer, breast cancer, and other diseases that can be prevented.

According to research from Mental Health UK, 56% of respondents said that regular exercise helped them manage their stress and avoid burnout.

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How To Get Involved

Regular physical activity has been linked to improved health and happiness, according to research. When we exercise, our bodies release feel-good hormones that improve our sleep quality and make us feel less stressed and anxious. Our ability to concentrate and be productive can both benefit from including movement into our workday.

However, we are fully aware that there are obstacles stopping us from being physically active, such as accessibility, time, money, body image, lack of open space, or the negative connotations we might frequently connect with “exercise” itself, despite the evidence that physical activity can improve excellent mental health.

Exercise doesn’t have to resemble going to the gym, training for a marathon, or playing team sports, nor does it have to be expensive. It can be as easy as pushing your child on a park swing after school, changing a 1-2-1 conference to a walking call, getting off the bus a stop early, or dancing in your kitchen while preparing supper.

Points Of Note

Movement is important for our mental health. But so many of us struggle to move enough. We know there are many different reasons for this, so this Mental Health Awareness Week we want to help people to find moments for movement in their daily routines.

Apart from the diverse avenues for engagement in the broader campaign, individuals can also effect change at a more local level. A wonderful approach to offer support for a loved one with mental health challenges is to extend a helping hand. The impact that these insignificant gestures may have on someone who is experiencing mental health difficulties is immense, regardless of whether they require assistance with specific tasks or are simply lonely. Just as worthwhile as any of the more expansive alternatives on the list is raising awareness of these potential avenues to positively impact loved ones during Mental Health Awareness Week.