Ed gives us all the info we need about Mental Health Awareness Week 2020 and why now, more than ever, it’s important to look after yours and others’ mental health.
The week 18 – 24 May 2020 has been chosen this year to highlight mental health awareness. The initiative first started in 2001 to help raise awareness for mental health in society and has focused on various themes, including body image, stress and relationships. The theme for 2020 is kindness.
Since the start of COVID-19, our message here at Rambutan has been ‘be safe, be kind and care for each other’, so in the current climate, this year’s mental health awareness theme resonates strongly with us. In the society we live in today, I’m a firm believer that mental health is everyone’s business, and we all can do things to look after our own mental health and help to look after others too.
Amid COVID-19 there will be millions of people in the UK struggling with their mental health and we each have a responsibility to be kind to those around us. For this blog, I asked three of my close friends, “If I could do one thing for you each day to help your mental health what would it be?” Here’s what they said:
- a five-minute chat just to check how I’m doing
- check-in with me and others around you
- be at the end of the phone if I need someone to talk to
Granted it ‘s a small sample size, but each person I asked named a similar thing that I could do. Checking in with a couple of your close friends/family each day could really help them and all it takes is a quick text or a five-minute phone call. Let’s support each other during this tough time.
So how can you join in with Mental Health Awareness Week 2020?
If you head over to the Mental Health Foundation there’s fantastic information on how you can become involved with the week and help raise awareness for mental health. Let’s be kind to each other in this difficult time.
Be safe, be kind and care for each other. #KindnessMatters #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek
