Mental Health Awareness Week: action for yourself, for someone else, for all of us

Action for yourself 

I have experienced anxiety for as long as I can remember. It manifests in different ways depending on the situation I’m in—and it ranges in severity from relatively minor to completely debilitating—but it’s almost always there. Because of this, I didn’t realise there was anything ‘wrong’ with me until I suffered a significant mental health crisis in my early 20s; anxiety was, and is, my ‘normal’.  

My experience isn’t unique. Most of us aren’t mental health experts, and most of us don’t always understand what we’re feeling, why we’re feeling it, or how to cope with it. That’s why it’s important that when we’re talking about acting for our own mental health this Mental Health Awareness Week, we aren’t conflating that with facing mental health challenges alone.  

Taking action for our own mental health will, for most people, mean reaching out to professionals, friends, and family for support—at least initially. I know I wouldn’t have the tools and strategies that allow me to now manage my mental health (mostly) independently without having first had extensive treatment.  

Action for someone else 

Given this, one of the most effective actions we can take to support someone else with their mental health is to empower them to reach out for help.  

People often assume that this means being able to identify when someone is struggling. The reality, however, is that no two people experience mental health challenges in the same way. They won’t always display the behavioural changes you might expect, and some behaviours (reduced food intake, for example) can be very difficult to recognise unless you’re around someone all the time.  

We also can’t underestimate the significance of mental health stigma. I became an expert at hiding how I was feeling because of a deep, pervasive sense of shame—to the extent that I spent much of my early recovery repeatedly apologising to my family for ‘letting them down’. This is, again, certainly not a unique experience.  

We can’t rely only on ‘noticing the signs’, therefore. We also need to make sure people feel comfortable enough to come to us about their mental health. Being willing to talk about our own is essential to this; people find it much easier to be vulnerable and honest with someone who has previously been vulnerable and honest with them. This doesn’t need to be profound—simple actions like admitting to a colleague that you’re finding a project overwhelming can identify you as a safe person to talk to.  

We also need to be brave enough to ask the question when we’re not sure if someone needs support. It’s always better to approach someone (sensitively) and get it wrong than potentially leave them to suffer alone. You can find out more about how to approach conversations about mental health, and what to do if someone discloses a problem, here.  

Action for all of us 

Empowering people to reach out for support is crucial. So is ensuring that, as a society, we have the right systems in place to provide that support when they do.  

This means addressing the systemic barriers that make it harder for some people (often because of factors like age, gender, disability, ethnicity, location, and socioeconomic status) to access high-quality mental health treatment.  

It also means changing the way we collectively frame the mental health conversation, which is often inaccurate and stigmatising—focused on questioning the validity of people’s mental health problems instead of what factors are causing them.  

SCIE’s work 

There is reason to be optimistic. The Mental Health Act 2025—which marked a significant reform of the Mental Health Act 1983—was a welcome step towards a system that more effectively protects and supports people like me. 

SCIE hosted three advisory groups in January to understand how the sector is responding to the Mental Health Act 2025 and to ensure our work is credible, co-produced, and delivers practical, evidence-informed support. Our new report shares insights from these advisory groups, highlighting the immediate reactions, concerns, and support organisations will require to meaningfully implement the change.  

Ultimately, we’re working to promote approaches that are person-centred, led by people’s lived experience, and focused on their strengths. To find out more about our new offer in this area, sign up for our mailing list and tick mental health here. 

And to find out more about Mental Health Awareness Week, how you can get involved, and access free resources, visit the Mental Health Foundation’s website.