Mental Health Awareness Week



Mental Health Awareness Week

By Ellie Marlow

The 18th to the 24th May saw the Mental Health Foundation promote Mental Health Awareness Week with the theme of kindness. The campaign encourages people to drive conversations about mental health to reduce stigma and create permanent change. This is an incredibly important cause to OnTarget. Our school programme aims to use relatable mentors and work placements to help students gain important life skills that boosts their confidence and self-worth, helping to improve their mental health. The widespread encouragement of open discussions on mental health is vital in providing methods for people to cope with mental health issues and publicising resources that can help.

The campaign has been running since 2001 but has assumed special significance this year considering the strain of the coronavirus pandemic and associated challenges. Mind has launched their #speakyourmind campaign as part of this week, encouraging people to reach out to friends and family to check in or share their tips on how they have been coping. This is incredibly value in stimulating a dialogue on the impact of recent events on our mental health and allowing a platform for the exchange of advice. Whilst we are unable to send mentors into schools to start conversations with students about their feelings, OnTarget is really pleased to see initiatives like this facilitating constructive connections. It once again highlights the beneficial side of social media in this crisis, with Mind’s research showing one of the most common coping strategies is maintaining contact with friends and family online.

The theme of kindness is also extremely valuable in these times as just a simple message can remind someone they are not alone, reducing feelings of isolation. The Mental Health Foundation (MHF) shows that even small acts of kindness are instrumental to boosting our own and others’ mental health, producing a healthier and happier community. This widespread impact is core to our programme as we hope to help provide prosperous futures for our students which benefits them and their community. Research conducted by the MHF showed 63% of UK adults agreed there was a positive impact on their mental health when other people were kind, whilst carrying out acts of kindness was shown to boost our moods, help us feel more capable and strengthen relationships.

Mental Health Awareness Week has highlighted the continued centrality of good mental health to society and how social media can facilitate this as a platform for exchanges of kindness whilst we are physically separated. Whilst OnTarget cannot provide our usual services, we are delighted to see campaigns like these. They show the necessity of programmes like ours, with its focus on improving mental health through skill development, for individuals and wider society. Whilst the official event is only for a week, its messages and resources are important all the time and we encourage everyone to check them out.

Relevant Links:

MHF information on Mental Health Awareness Week: www.mentalhealth.org.uk/campaigns/mental-health-awareness-week

MHF Research on Kindness: www.mentalhealth.org.uk/campaigns/mental-health-awareness-week/kindness-research.

Mind’s #speakyourmind campaign: www.mind.org.uk/get-involved/mental-health-awareness-week

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