The Mix / Mental Health / What is Mental Health Awareness Week?

What is Mental Health Awareness Week?

Graphic shows a young person wearing pink with short blonde hair. They are wearing hoop earrings and they are sitting between two blue flowers with a night sky in the background. The image represents coming out as Non-Binary.

Mental Health Awareness Week runs between Monday 13^th May – Sunday 19^th May this year. It’s a chance to raise awareness and money for all things connected to our mental health.

To mark the event, The Mix will be taking part in The Big Give, a chance to double all donations between 14^th-28^th May (donate here).

In a time when looking after our mental health is more essential than ever, we look into where Mental Health Awareness Week came from, what it is and what you can do for it…

When did Mental Health Awareness Week start?

It all started way back in 1949 when Clifford W. Beers, founder of Mental Health America, created Mental Health Awareness Month. Their mission was to tackle stigma around mental health by helping people understand and prioritise their mental wellbeing. Fast forward 52 years and the UK marked its first ever Mental Health Awareness Week in 2001.

Since then, every year has been dedicated to raising awareness of anything and everything that affects our day-to-day mental health. Over the last few years, Mental Health Awareness Week has raised awareness of:

Anxiety
Loneliness
Nature
Kindness
Body image

What’s this year’s theme?

This year is all about ‘Movement: Moving more for your mental health’

Various organisations such as gyms, fitness centres, mental health charities and even major brands are teaming up to inspire people to exercise and, consequently, improve their wellbeing.

Regular exercise has many benefits to our mental health, including:

Improving self-esteem
Better sleep
Improved concentration
Increased energy levels

Don’t worry! There’s no need to set a 5am alarm like Conor Mcgregor or train like Chloe Kelly. By just squeezing a few minutes of fitness into your daily routine will have enormous benefits for your mental health.

The Big Give

To mark Mental Health Awareness Week, The Mix are aiming to raise donations to continue making a positive impact on young people at a time when they need it more than ever.

Donate to The Mix between 14^th-28^th May as part of The Big Give and Mental Health Awareness Week and every donation we receive will be DOUBLED, helping us support even more young people across the UK.

Donate here and double your donation!