Get involved this Mental Health Awareness Week!
Mental Health Awareness Week takes place from 13-19 May 2019 on the topic of body image - how we feel and think about our bodies.
Download your free supporter pack (.pdf)
Who we are
The Mental Health Foundation is the UK’s charity for everyone’s mental health. With prevention at the heart of what we do, we aim to find and address the sources of mental health problems.
We have over 70 years of experience and expertise working towards a world with good mental health for all.
Read more about our innovative programmes, national campaigns and transformative mental health research:
What is Mental Health Awareness Week?
Mental health problems can affect anyone, at any time. We believe that mental health is everyone’s business.
So for one week each May, we campaign around a specific theme for Mental Health Awareness Week.
Since our first Mental Health Awareness Week in 2001, we’ve raised awareness of topics like stress, relationships, loneliness, sleep, alcohol and friendship.
Hundreds of schools, businesses and communities have come together to start conversations around mental health that can change and even save lives.
This year, with your support, we want to reach more people than ever.
13-19 May 2019: Body image – how we feel and think about our bodies
Last year we found that 30% of all adults have felt so stressed by body image and appearance that they felt overwhelmed or unable to cope. That’s almost 1 in every 3 people.
Body image issues can affect all of us at any age and directly impact our mental health.
However there is still a lack of much-needed research and understanding around this.
As part of Mental Health Awareness Week:
- We will be publishing the results of a UK-wide survey on body image and mental health.
- We will look at body image issues across a lifetime – including how it affects children and young people, adults and people in later life.
- We will also highlight how people can experience body image issues differently, including people of different ages, genders, ethnicities and sexualities.
- We will use our research to continue campaigning for positive change and publish practical tools to help improve the nation’s relationship with their bodies.
The good news is that we can tackle body image through what children are taught in schools, by the way we talk about our bodies on a daily basis and through policy change by governments across the UK.
Getting involved online
We want to get the nation talking about body image and mental health. By joining us online, you can even reach people from around the world.
Download our graphics for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram (feed and stories) and share with your friends and family.
Follow us and help us spread the word. It’s also the best way to receive updates on the campaign in the lead up to the week!
Facebook: @mentalhealthfoundation
Twitter: @mentalhealth
Instagram: @mentalhealthfoundation
Visit facebook.com/fundraisers and follow the steps below:
- Click Raise Money.
- Select Nonprofit/Charity.
- Select Mental Health Foundation, choose a cover photo and fill in the fundraiser details.
- Click Create.
#BeBodyKind
From 13-19 May we will be running a body image challenge.
It’s easy to take part and we would love to have your support.
Use the hashtags #BeBodyKind and
#MentalHealthAwarenessWeek.
Tag us @mentalhealthfoundation on Instagram and Facebook. We are @mentalhealth on Twitter.
Wear a green ribbon
The green ribbon is the international symbol for mental health awareness. Join thousands of people across the UK who will be wearing a green ribbon for Mental Health Awareness Week and all year round.
Did you know that the average adult will say "I'm fine" 14 times per week, yet only 19% actually mean it? At the Mental Health Foundation, we encourage people to wear the pin to create walking safe spaces for people to talk about mental health.
Show colleagues, loved ones or simply those you walk past that you care about their mental health. It can also be worn in memory of a loved one.
Host or attend an event
Raising awareness is vital for changing the way people think about mental health and events like yours help us reach more people than we ever could alone.
In past years people have:
- Organised a flashmob to raise awareness of anxiety
- Sent mental health posters to shops on the high street
- Held a pottery-making event for students
- Organised yoga sessions for the office
Have fun and get creative!
Why not try one of our flagship fundraising events? Whether you want to hold an event at work, at home or at school we have the event for you.
Curry & Chaat is our flagship fundraising event for Mental Health Awareness Week. Get together with your colleagues, friends, family and tuck in for mental health.
Tea & Talk – hold a Tea & Talk at work or at home. Enjoy a cuppa and cake and help challenge mental health stigma.
MHF Live – hold a live music event and raise awareness, raise money and raise the roof!
School Wellbeing Week – our fundraising initiative for schools to provide young people with the tools needed to maintain good mental health.
We also have an activity map to promote all the events going on across the UK.
Resources
Help us spread the word with posters, graphics, booklets and more! You can also order boxes of green ribbon pins for your school, workplace or fundraising event.