Mental Health Awareness Week will take place from 10-16 May 2021. It is an annual event when there is an opportunity for the whole of the UK to focus on achieving good mental health.
The Mental Health Foundation started the event 21 years ago. Each year the Foundation continues to set the theme, organise and host the Week. The event has grown to become one of the biggest awareness weeks across the UK and globally.
Mental Health Awareness Week is open to everyone. It is all about starting conversations about mental health and the things in our daily lives that can affect it. The Week is an opportunity for people to talk about all aspects of mental health, with a focus on providing help and advice.
We all deserve to feel safe and supported when talking about our mental health. However, mental health stigma leaves people feeling isolated and ashamed. People feel that they will be treated differently if they are known to be living with a mental illness and, as a result, many keep themselves to themselves because of the fear and at worst, this fear often prevents people getting support, finding employment or having open conversations. One person in every four people will be affected by a mental disorder at some stage of their lives and this is only on reported and diagnosed cases which means, the actual numbers could be so much higher.
It can be beneficial to help understand the term “mental health” to consider the following questions:
- What is mental health?
- What are “mental health problems?”
- What is good mental health?
It is important to take care of ourselves and keep both our bodies and are minds well and healthy and be able to function well especially during all the concerns surrounding the Pandemic.
Making simple changes can help you manage more effectively, but like anything else, we need to practice so think of some simple steps which would help and support your mental health, we have outlined some below to consider –
- Talk about your feelings
- Keep active
- Eat well
- Drink sensibly
- Keep in touch
- Ask for help
- Take a break
- Do something you’re good at
- Accept who you are
- Care for others
How many of the things in the list do you do? Remember that it is good to talk about our mental health. If you feel you may need some support, you can contact Care first. Care first is a leading provider of confidential, professional counselling, information and advice services. All employees are eligible to use Care first, our services include; telephone counselling, information services and online support. Call Care first on the Freephone number provided by your organisation and you can speak to a professional in confidence.
Useful links for information:
If you would like to access further information about Mental Health Awareness week 2021 in more detail please follow the links listed here –
- https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/campaigns/mental-health-awareness-week
- https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/campaigns/mental-health-awareness-week/faqs
- https://www.mind.org.uk/get-involved/mental-health-awareness-week/
If you would like to watch the Webinar on ‘Mental Health Awareness’ this is being delivered live during Mental Health Awareness Week on Wednesday 12th May at 12pm, please use the below link to register for this session –
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8779374262287014928
If you are unable to join the webinar live, a recording of the session can be accessed using the same link above after the webinar has taken place.