The Mental Health Foundation has announced the dates and theme of next year’s Mental Health Awareness Week. It will run from Monday 9 May until Sunday 15 May 2022. The week will explore the experience of loneliness, its effect on our mental health and how we can all play a part in reducing loneliness in our communities.
Loneliness affects millions of people in the UK every year and is a key driver of poor mental health. The Foundation’s Mental Health in the Pandemic research has found that loneliness has been exacerbated by the Covid pandemic. The Foundation has been tracking loneliness levels in the UK during the pandemic and found the experience has been much higher with devastating impact. Loneliness has been an important factor contributing to higher levels of distress, resulting from people’s sense of isolation and reduced ability to connect with others. Further polling also found that loneliness was one of the leading issues that the public felt needed to be addressed.
The week will raise awareness of the impact of loneliness on our mental wellbeing and the practical steps we can take to address it. Reducing loneliness is a major step towards a mentally healthy society.
The Mental Health Foundation has set the theme, organised and hosted Mental Health Awareness Week for the last 22 years, during which time the event has grown to become one of the biggest awareness weeks across the UK and globally. Further details will be released in the run-up to the Week in early 2022.