Mental Health Awareness Week
9-15 May 2022 - Loneliness
Hosted by the Mental Health Foundation
Together we can tackle loneliness
One in four adults feel lonely some or all of the time. There’s no single cause and there’s no one solution. After all, we’re all different! But, the longer we feel lonely, the more we are at risk of mental health problems. Some people are also at higher risk of feeling lonely than others.
For Mental Health Awareness Week this year, we're raising awareness of the impact of loneliness on our mental health and the practical steps we can take to address it.
About Mental Health Awareness Week
The Mental Health Foundation started Mental Health Awareness Week 21 years ago and we continue to set the theme, organise and host the week. It has grown to become one of the biggest awareness weeks across the UK and globally.
How to cope with loneliness and improve your mental health
Dealing with loneliness can be difficult. But there are things we can all do to cope with loneliness and prevent some of the negative feelings and mental health problems that can come with it.
We've worked with people who have experienced loneliness to develop some help and advice that you might find useful for yourself or to support other people who are feeling lonely.
Our loneliness report
Our new report, 'All the lonely people', explores everything to do with mental health and loneliness.
We look at why it matters, who experiences loneliness and what it feels like. The report also investigates how well people understand loneliness and suggests ways that we can repond as individuals and across society.
Our policy briefings
In recent years, the governments around the UK have rightly recognised tackling loneliness as a priority for policy action.
The Westminster Government was the first to appoint a Minister for Loneliness and to publish a strategy on tackling loneliness, and Scotland and Wales have also published loneliness strategies. It is essential that we do not lose this momentum.
Tackling loneliness in your community
We've created these resources to help tackle loneliness in some communities who are at a higher risk of feeling lonely than others.
Get involved
There are plenty of way for you to get involved in Mental Health Awareness Week

Say #IveBeenThere
This Mental Health Awareness Week we're on a mission to let everyone living in loneliness know that their mental health matters.
Let's tackle loneliness together.
Share your experience of loneliness on social media and say #IveBeenThere
Join in on social media
Stay up to date with the latest on Mental Health Awareness Week, follow our social media account for updates on the week.
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Twitter: @mentalhealth
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Facebook: @mentalhealthfoundation
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Instagram: @mentalhealthfoundation
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LinkedIn: @mental-health-foundation
Previous Mental Health Awareness Week themes
Each year we focus on a different mental health topic for Mental Health Awareness Week. You can see find out more about some of the topics we've covered recently below.