Mental Health Awareness Week: When is it and what is this year’s theme? (OLD)

Over the past few months, the detrimental impact the coronavirus pandemic has been having on people’s mental health has been widely discussed.

According to research conducted by mental health charity YoungMinds, more than half of parents and carers are concerned about the long-lasting effects the pandemic is having on their children’s mental wellbeing.

Furthermore, an investigation carried out by the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) suggested that young people’s mental health is suffering the most during lockdown.

The aim of Mental Health Awareness Week, which is taking place this year from Monday 10 May to Sunday 16 May, is to raise awareness of a topic related to mental health and to provide support for those who need it.

Here’s everything you need to know about the annual event:

Who created it?

Mental Health Awareness Week in the UK was conceived by the Mental Health Foundation, an organisation founded in 1949.

The charity states that it takes “a public mental health approach to prevention, finding solutions to individuals, those at risk and for society, in order to improve everyone’s mental wellbeing”.

The first Mental Health Awareness Week took place in 2001, and has since become one of the most significant mental health awareness observances in the world.

In the US, Mental Health Awareness Week is observed in October, coinciding with World Mental Health Day on 10 October.

What is this year’s theme?

This year, the theme for Mental Health Awareness Week in the UK is “nature and the environment”.

According to the Mental Health Foundation, the theme was chosen due to the importance of nature in lockdown, with the organisation pointing to research that found “going for walks outside was one of our top coping strategies and 45 per cent of us reported being in green spaces had been vital for our mental health”.

16 male celebrities who have spoken about mental health

Channel 4 in 2017 that by opening up about his depression he hoped to help others. "I think for them to see I went through it would help," the BRIT-award-winning musician said. "For a long time I used to think that soldiers don’t go through that. You know? Like, strong people in life, the bravest, the most courageous people, they don’t go through that, they just get on with it...and that’s not the case." (Rex Features)" />

Twilight star Robert Pattinson told The Telegraph he struggled with depression for a period of time. “'I had a bit of a struggle at first because my life really contracted and I couldn't do a lot of the stuff I used to be able to do." He advised aspiring Hollywood actors to "take care" of your mental health. "If you get as famous as quickly as I did, your personal growth stops suddenly.” (Rex Features)" />

Today in 2018: "After years and years and years of just shoving every negative, bad feeling down to the point where I mean, I just didn't even feel it anymore...and for me, that sent me down a spiral staircase real quick and like I said, I found myself in a spot where I didn't want to be alive anymore." (Rex Features)" />

The Sunday Times Style magazine about suffering with an eating disorder and anxiety. "We’re all human. People are often afraid to admit difficulties, but I don’t believe that there should be a struggle with anything that’s the truth," said the former One Direction singer. "If you were a guy, you used to have to be really masculine, but now expressing emotion is accepted and respected.’ (Rex Features)" />

iNews. Although he is pleased to "start conversations" Green warns how becoming a mental health spokesperson can be high pressure. “It’s difficult because sometimes you’re having a great day, then someone comes up and tells you something absolutely horrific; I’m not a psychologist and it’s really hard." (Rex Features)" />

Childish Gambino told Vice in 2013 he'd been through periods of depression following the end of his tour. "I was just super depressed. I mean, I tried to kill myself. I was really fucked up after that [tour], because I had this girl that I thought I was going to marry and we broke up. I didn’t feel like I knew what I was doing. I wasn’t living up to my standard, I was living up to other people’s standards, and I just said ‘I don’t see the point'.” (Rex Features)" />

People magazine that talking about his mental health problems was the "scariest" thing he's ever done. "I still struggle with it but just remember every day that everyone deals with some level of anxiety or pressure; we're all in it together." He told The Sun in 2018: "All pain is temporary, and the thing is with anxiety, and why it's such a hard thing for people who don't have it to understand." (Rex Features)" />

iNews that he had struggled with depression throughout his life. “At this point, I don’t have depression. I had that for years, but now, when the rain comes, it rains, but it doesn’t stay. It doesn’t stay long enough to immerse me and drown me anymore.” (Rex Features)" />

Fall Out Boy frontman Pete Wentz has spoken openly about his bipolar disorder diagnosis and other mental health problems. He said that it took him to reach breaking point before asking for help. "My best piece of advice, more than anything, is that there's other people out there that feel [suicidal], or are feeling that right at that time," he said. "Maybe your favorite actor, or a guy in a band, or whoever, there are people who feel that exact same thing and have made it through that. I would say more than anything, you're not alone in it." (Rex Features)" />

Mad Men star Jon Hamm told The Guardian in 2010. "I did do therapy and antidepressants for a brief period, which helped me." Hamm said medication helped change his "brain chemistry" enough so he could get out of bed. "I don't want to sleep until four in the afternoon. I want to get up and go do my shit and go to work," he says. (Rex Features)" />

“Nature is so central to our psychological and emotional health, that it’s almost impossible to realise good mental health for all without a greater connection to the natural world,” the organisation explains.

For this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week, the organisation will show the importance of nature on mental health, and how “even small contacts with nature can reduce feelings of social isolation and be effective in protecting our mental health, and preventing distress”.

The Mental Health Foundation also said it would be using this year’s theme to advocate for those who do not have access to nature, noting that it needs to be a “resource that must be available for everyone to enjoy”.

“Local and national governments need to consider their role in making this a reality for everyone, and we will be talking about how they can do so during the week,” the organisation said.

How can you get involved?

According to the Mental Health Foundation website, stories are the best way to get involved, with the organisation encouraging people to share their “stories of how nature has supported your mental health”.

“This might be as a simple as tending to a house plant, listening to the birds, touching the bark of trees, smelling flowers or writing a poem about our favourite nature spot,” the organisation explains, adding that those who participate should use the hashtags #ConnectWithNature and #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek to share any photos, videos or other connections they’ve made with nature.

Additionally, the organisation is offering individuals the ability to download a nature journal, which can be used to document how you feel before and after connecting with nature.

The Mental Health Foundation has also asked that people talk about nature with their friends, families, workplaces and communities.

If you are in need of mental health support, you can contact charity Mind by calling the helpline on 0300 123 3393, emailing info@mind.org.uk or texting 86463. The helpline is open Monday to Friday (except bank holidays), 9am to 6pm.