Mental Health Awareness Week 2020: Heads Together Wellbeing Guides

Hosted by the Mental Health Foundation, every year the UK comes together for Mental Health Awareness Week to drive change towards a society that helps people and communities live mentally healthy lives. The theme of Mental Health Awareness Week 2020 is kindness.

This year more than ever it is vital we take simple steps to improve our mental wellbeing, and it will celebrate the thousands of acts of kindness that are so important to our mental health, particularly during times of stress.

To coincide with the first day of Mental Health Awareness Week, we’ve partnered with Instagram to produce three digital ‘guides’ supporting people’s mental health during Covid-19.

We’re so excited to have worked with Instagram and our incredible partners to pull together videos, tips, stories and ideas to help everyone look after their mental wellbeing in these difficult times. The ‘Heads Together Wellbeing Guides’ are the first ever to be featured on the platform as part of Instagram’s new global mental health initiative, and will help people respond to any potential negative effects the pandemic may have on people’s mental health.

Curated by Heads Together and featuring posts, resources, and inspiration from our brilliant charity partners and other individuals and organisations, they are focused on wellness and will allow users to discover positive, reliable recommendations from individuals and organisations who are trusted, admired and followed.

The three guides are focused on specific aspects of mental wellbeing: talking, self-care, and kindness. The resources signposted in the guides on these three topics are to remind you of the importance of both acts of kindness and taking care of our minds and bodies, and that we are all connected – you are not alone, and however you’re feeling, it’s important to talk.

Find out more and check out the guides below!

Talking has never been more important than now, and reaching out to loved ones by phone, text, or video call is vital to looking after both our own mental health and others'

Taking time for yourself is always important. But now where pressures and stresses can be acute, everyone should find ways to relax and recover to look after their mental wellbeing.

We've seen some amazing acts of kindness over the past few weeks, and it goes to show even the smallest gestures can have a huge effect on both parties.