Category: Help and Advice

In this article for Mental Health Awareness Week 2025, we will explore why community is important to mental health, alongside practical ways to cultivate community connections.

Mental Health UK is proud to announce the launch of a comprehensive new Resource Hub —designed to empower individuals on their journey into work.

It’s that time of year again — the sun is out, and school has finished for another academic year. But if you are a parent — whether you work in the office, hybrid, or you from home — the summer holidays might be overwhelming.

Feedback from Mental Health UK’s Me & Money pilot programme, which launched last year, shows that young people are experiencing additional strain on their relationship with their parents/carers because of money in the approach to the school holidays.

In the UK, nearly 5 million cisgender women aged 50 and over are in employment – it is the fastest-growing demographic group of workers. This age group is the most likely to be affected by menopausal symptoms, so employers need to ensure they are supporting this group of their workforce. Talking openly with your employer can be an important first step towards being better supported at work.

Like many parents, I was looking forward to my children returning to school after the long summer holidays. Don’t get me wrong, I love my kids and love spending time with them. However, for the optimum balance of a happy home environment and my ability to do my job, a return to school was the order of the day. My kids too needed to get back into the daily schedule school brings; the social engagement of seeing all their friends again is a hugely positive thing and obviously they need to learn.

After the COVID-19 pandemic, many parents hoped the days of remote learning were behind them and their children. However, recent news that over 100 schools have been forced to suddenly close due to safety fears over concrete has forced some pupils in England and Wales to start their school terms online or in temporary facilities.  

Thanks to our ongoing partnership with Bank of America, we are delivering a new service called Into Work in London, Kent and North Wales, supporting people to make positive change and enter employment.

If news reports of rising temperatures, melting ice caps, or forest fires fill you with dread and anxiety, you aren’t alone. You might be experiencing ‘climate anxiety’, and while it is a relatively new term, it’s on the rise and particularly affects young people. 

Christmas is the time of year when we’re expected to be our merriest and most joyful. There are friends and family to see, and a wealth of opportunities to have fun and let loose. For some of us, our reality during the festivities is far from this. It can be a stressful time of year with family duties, financial strain, pressure to keep to traditions and tricky logistics. It can also bring up some difficult emotional experiences, such as trauma and grief. So, how can we navigate these challenges and protect our mental health?

Although the wintertime can be a time for celebration, festivities, and socialising, for many people it can also induce feelings of loneliness, stress, and anxiety. With our physical environment also changing around us, with shorter days and less sunlight, we might need to take extra care to monitor our mental health over these colder months. 

Fundraiser, Luke Hamer tells us why putting his mental health first made him stronger – as part of our World Mental Health Day campaign encouraging people to make their mental health a priority.

Tying in with our World Mental Health Day campaign encouraging people to make their mental health a priority, our colleague Gemma tells us why looking after her mental health is integral to her quality of life. 

Some of us look forward to the autumn, with the promise of cosy jumpers, hot drinks and spending more time indoors. For some people the upcoming weeks are less appealing, with fewer daylight hours and colder temperatures. As the seasons change, you may notice a shift in your mental health. We’ve put together some helpful guidance on how to manage the transition to autumn and avoid it negatively impacting mental health.

27-year-old Zany lost her close friend to suicide five years ago. Like many people who are bereaved by suicide, she experienced a complex set of emotions following his death and grappled with a sense of detachment and hopelessness. She tells us her story about what helped her to address her grief.