Mental Health Awareness Week 2026

It's a campaign week! This week is Mental Health Awareness Week, a prompt to reflect on our own mental wellbeing and how we can best support that of those around us.

What's going on?

We are starting to see warmer weather here in the UK, are your wellbeing activities changing with the weather?

We've also just had local elections, which have been quite to very divisive. Are you able to take a take while staying informed?

Over the last year or so, I have seen so many reels on instagram about millennials and Gen Z; the worlds we've grown up in and the one we experience today. Of course these videos involve a lot of generalisations, that will not be accurate or resonate with everyone. However, the video did raise some thoughts about the world we have all lived in for the last 20 years.

We've had recessions, job markets changing, global wars and conflicts, political and cultural conflicts, a pandemic, the climate crisis, the use of AI and wider attacks on individuals and groups because of their identities and or beliefs. It's generally a less settled and (more recently) an increasingly less kind environment we live in.

I know so many people currently reconsidering life decisions, about employment, their house and how they live. It maybe a 30's, 40's and 50's thing, but there seems to be a lot of people in or around my bubble at the moment considering their lifestyles.

On the personal side, I am still trying to manage the stress that I'm feeling each day. I've lowered my level slightly (yay me!), however my resting stress level is still quite high. Meaning I jump into high stress very quickly. So adding in more wellbeing and pause moments are something I continue to work on. See any of multiple previous posts about this to find out more. I'm still learning.

It's Mental Health Awareness Week, what are the themes?

"We’ve chosen Action as this year's theme because, while awareness is vital, real change comes when we take action too. Together, we’ve come a long way on mental health, but we can’t risk going backwards. There’s still much we can do to prevent people becoming unwell in the first place." - Mental Health Foundation

"Great mental health care isn’t just clinical, it’s human. It’s the kind voice at the end of the phone when you’re worried about rent and too unwell to work. It’s the advisor who listens actively, rather than waiting for their turn to speak. It’s the therapist who talks through what’s happened to you, not what’s ‘wrong’ with you. Mind’s experts are the heart of human care for mental health, treating people as individuals, not statistics and seeing a person, where others might just see a patient. They know their communities, know their needs and go the extra mile to deliver quality care, when people need it most." - Mind

I believe the two different themes this week 'Action' and 'Human' highlight the evolving situation about mental health. Firstly, that while awareness is essential, there's been amazing work in this area over the last ten years. And actually what now needs to be worked on is our mental health education. Secondly, that mental health care is dangeriously underfunded. While AI continues to grow in use and application it is not fit for service delivery. Yes, it can support admin and communication tasks, but should be used to support human interaction; not replace it.

With that in mind, here are some organisations, charities and campaigns I have been following or signposting to this year. If you are looking to find out more about support and or campaigns, take a look.

Online Services

• kooth.com - Kooth is a free online mental wellbeing community for young people.

• nhs.uk/every-mind-matters/ - simple and practical ways to ease anxiety, manage stress, lift your mood and sleep better

• samaritans.org - Whatever you're going through, a Samaritan will face it with you. We're here 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

• headspace.com - meditation, guided programs, and more

Local Services

• andysmanclub.co.uk - suicide prevention charity, offering free to attend peer-to-peer support groups

• menssheds.org.uk/sheds/ - a place to pursue practical interests with social connections and friendship building, sharing skills and knowledge.

• nhs.uk/nhs-services/mental-health-services/ - Your local NHS Services

• mind.org.uk/information-support/local-minds/ - Your local Mind (Mental Health Services)

Campaigns

• dumpthescales.org - carers, clinicians, people with lived experience from all over the world who are passionate about ending the injustices of those affected by eating disorders.

• mind.org.uk - empowering people with information, helping them understand mental health, make informed choices, and feel less alone in their journey.

• thesleepcharity.org.uk - independent expert voices on sleep issues in the UK and we are here to help everyone get a better night’s sleep

• stress.org.uk - non-profit organisation dedicated to helping individuals

  and companies recognise and manage stress.

• rcpsych.ac.uk/mental-health/mental-illnesses-and-mental-health-problems/depression - publishing information to help people understand more about mental health and mental illness, and the kind of care they are entitled to

• zerosuicidealliance.com - empowering, educating and equiping individuals and organisations to recognise what action they can take to support suicide awareness and prevention across our communities

This week

Mental Health Awareness Week is a great time to pause, breath and reflect. How are you? Are there changes you could make that would better support your wellbeing; and so enable you to be more present with friends, colleagues, family and yourself? Are you confident to ask a friend how they are feeling? Do you know places to signpost to if they are struggling? Could you find out about two or three mental health charities or services, so you can signpost to them?

Whatever your week looks like, I hope you are well and able to take a moment to pause and breathe this week.

---

Blogger's note: This post does not include sponsored content. None of the services, projects, campaigns or charities mentioned have seen this post before it is published, nor have they instructed me on what to say. The views, experiences, thoughts and insights expressed in this post are my own. The links included are direct web links and are not affiliate links.