Today kicks off #mentalhealthawarenessweek – a week where we unite to raise awareness for mental health conditions and to strive towards a healthier mind. While social media can be used to improve our mental health by easily communicating with friends and family, it can also have the potential of negative effects if used too much or in the wrong way.
What is the theme for Mental Health Awareness Week 2023?
With each year focusing around a different theme, this year is centred around anxiety. Anxiety is a normal emotion in us all, but sometimes it can get out of control and become a mental health problem.
Lots of things can lead to feelings of anxiety, including exam pressures, relationships, starting a new job (or losing one) or other big life events. We can also get anxious when it comes to things to do with money and not being able to meet our basic needs, like heating our home or buying food. But anxiety can be made easier to manage.
Focusing on anxiety for this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week will increase people’s awareness and understanding of anxiety by providing information on the things that can help prevent it from becoming a problem. At the same time, we will keep up the pressure to demand change – making sure that improving mental health is a key priority for the government and society as a whole.
To help support Mental Health Awareness week, we have collated 7 of the best Instagram handles to help inspire your newsfeed and give you some fantastic tools to improve your mental health.
1. Samaritans
Instagram handle: @samaritanscharity
Samaritans are one of the UK’s largest mental health and suicide prevention services who offer 24/7 support 365 days a year. There are some excellent toolkits on their website, including a self-help app where you can ‘keep track of how you’re feeling and get recommendations for things you can do to help yourself cope, feel better and stay safe in a crisis’. You can also sign up to their newsletter for regular toolkits and advice delivered straight to your inbox.
Last year, over 20,000 people volunteered to be a Samaritan by being there for someone to talk to, whether that be on the phone, on text or on email. If this is something you would like to do, you can do so by clicking here.
2. Young Minds UK
Instagram handle: @youngmindsuk
Young Minds’ mission is to stop young people’s mental health reaching crisis point. They say that “every young person whose mental health ends up in crisis is a young person who has been failed. Young Minds know that the earlier young people can access the right help, the more likely it is that they can avoid these crises.”
Like Samaritans, Young Minds have a fantastic resources library full of useful toolkits, publications, reports and policy information about children and young people’s mental health. They too provide a newsletter that you can sign up to.
3. Dear My Anxiety
Instagram handle: @dearmyanxiety
Another brilliant handle to follow is this comforting account, which hopes to destigmatise anxiety for all followers in lots of creative ways that we can all relate to.
4. Mind UK & Dorset Mind
Instagram handles: @mindcharity & @dorsetmind
Mind UK are a nationwide mental health support charity who form a network of 130 local Minds in England and Wales and were set up in 1946. They provide advice and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem and tirelessly campaign to improve services, raise awareness and promote understanding. They offer a whole range of resources from in-house workplace training to ‘5-step crisis plans’.
Dorset Mind represent Dorset and surrounding areas and offer fantastic local support groups and online support groups of which you can book in slots for, alongside a whole range of toolkits and local resources for all ages.
5. Head Space
Instagram handle: @headspace
Headspace was started with one mission: to improve the health and happiness of the world. Its Instagram content offers lots of informative and supportive information which can be a welcome addition to your feed. They even offer a two week free trial, to give their app a try. Give it a go!
6. Dad Says Jokes
Instagram handle: @dadsaysjokes
Want a good laugh? If wit and puns are your thing then we introduce you to the ultimate pick up profile of Dad jokes. What better way to improve your mental health than to have a good giggle over some jokes. You’re welcome!
7. Hi Anxiety
Instagram handle: @_hi_anxiety_
Hi Anxiety is a digital social impact campaign that uses the field of social emotional learning (SEL) to help young people better manage everyday anxieties and improve emotional well-being. We think this profile is awesome! While we all feel a bit anxious from time to time, some people can find feelings of anxiety far more overwhelming than others. We recommend giving this account a follow for daily reminders of comfort and advice.
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While these are some of the best services that we think are available, we’d love to know if you have any more. Contact us today and let us know if there are any others that you would recommend.
