Wellness Wednesday: Health and Wellbeing Flavour of the Month: May

There are lots of interesting Health & Wellbeing initiatives throughout the month of May covering a vast spectrum of diseases and areas of interest. Below is your heads-up calendar for the month ahead.

  • Local and Community History Month: lots of people get a great sense of wellbeing from their hobbies which is the reason I have included information on this initiative.
  • Melanoma Awareness Month: this initiative is organised by Melanoma UK. The message they want to get across is that 90% of melanomas are preventable. Melanoma BRAF Awareness Day is on 26 May; the BRAF gene mutation is the most common form of melanoma. To learn more, follow the link.
  • National Walking Month: walking is a great way to exercise. This initiative is promoted by the Living Streets organisation and the British Heart Foundation (BHF) to spread the word about the health benefits of walking. People can sign up to the Just Walk pledge to raise money for BHF.
  • Dying Matters Week 02-06 May: organised by Dying Matters, the aim is to bring conversations and talking about the subject of death and bereavement into the national agenda. They believe if death isn’t such a taboo subject, then people will lead happier lives. The theme for this year is #InAGoodPlace (when you die). To learn more, follow the link.
  • Deaf Awareness Week, 02-08 May: The theme for this year is ‘Celebrating Deafness’.
  • Coeliac UK Awareness Week, 09-15 May: the theme for this year is #ShineALightOn Coeliac. Coeliac Disease is a digestive disorder which affects 1 in 100 people.
  • ME Awareness Week, 09-15 May: ME stands for myalgic encephalitis; it is also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. The ME Association is emphasising the increase in the number of ME/CFS diagnoses occurring at this time. It links this to the incidence of long-Covid following the pandemic. The theme this year is for the development of safe and effective treatments that make people with ME/CFS better; the theme is linked to the #JustOne Wish. Follow the link to learn more.
  • Mental Health Awareness Week 09-15 May: organised by the Mental Health Foundation (MHF), this year’s theme is ‘Loneliness’. The MHF website expands on its theme with the aim of ‘raising awareness of the impact of loneliness on our mental wellbeing and the practical steps we can take to address it.’ To learn more, follow the link.
  • National Children’s Day, 15 May: this day is all about the importance of a healthy childhood, and how we need to protect the rights and freedoms of children in order to ensure that they can grow into happy, healthy adults. The theme this year is ‘Choose Kind’.
  • Dementia Action Week, 16-22 May: organised by the Alzheimer’s Society, the focus of the theme this year is on diagnosis. To learn more, follow the link.
  • Learning at Work Week, 16-22 May: this year’s theme is ‘Learning Uncovered’. Our T&OD are putting together events for Bag Week. Watch out on the University Comms Channel to learn more.
  • National Vegetarian Week, 16-22 May: promoted by the Vegetarian Society. The theme this year focusses on the benefits of vegetarianism for the climate crisis. To learn more, follow the link.
  • National Smile Month 16 May-16 June: organised by the Oral Health Foundation, it aims to spread the message that oral health plays a vital part in overall health. This year’s theme is ‘Everyone deserves a healthy smile’.
  • Hats For Headway 20 May: Headway is the brain injuries association. Their message is that brain injury can challenge every aspect of your life – walking, talking, thinking and feeling – and the losses can be severe and permanent. Hats for Headway is their fundraising day. To learn more, follow the link.
  • National Conversation Week, 23-29 May: this initiative is all about ‘the simple, pleasurable, and rewarding art of simply talking to each other.’ Their website explains: ‘we’re encouraging everyone in the UK to spend the week trying a little bit harder to engage with those around them be they a friend, family  member, colleague, or customer.’

Water Saving Week 23-27 May: this initiative is organised by Waterwise. Full details have not been announced yet, but you can monitor by following the link.

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