Mental Health Awareness Week 2023

Today marks the start of Mental Health Awareness Week. Every May, the UK is brought together to tackle stigma and help people understand and support their mental health. This year, the theme of the week is anxiety. 

New research shows that 60% of UK adults experienced feelings of anxiety that interfered with their lives in the last two weeks. Young people, single parents or people from Black and minority ethnic communities are among those more likely to be affected by anxiety than others. The cost-of-living crisis is a key concern; the most commonly reported cause of anxiety in our research was being able to afford to pay bills.

And yet almost half of us feel shame or stigma around being anxious, and a third of us are not coping well. We want people to know that they are not alone, and to be empowered with the things that can help. We're also calling on policymakers to take action to reduce anxiety's toll on our lives, especially for people facing financial uncertainty. 

You can read more about Mental Health Awareness Week and Anxiety on the Mental Health Foundation website