2022 Mental Health Awareness Week: Loneliness

Taking place from Monday the 9^th of May to Sunday the 15^th of May 2022, today is the start of Mental Health Awareness Week with the focus theme of “loneliness”. The Mental Health Foundation aim to use this week to explore the experience of loneliness, its effect on our mental health, as well as how we can all play a part in reducing the loneliness in our communities, particularly as it affects millions of people every year, making it a “key driver of poor mental health”.

According to the research by The Mental Health Foundation, “loneliness has been exacerbated by the Covid pandemic. The Foundation has been tracking loneliness levels in the UK during the pandemic and found the experience has been much higher with devastating impact. Loneliness has been an important factor contributing to higher levels of distress, resulting from people’s sense of isolation and reduced ability to connect with others.  Further polling also found that loneliness was one of the leading issues that the public felt needed to be addressed.”

This week, the goal is to raise mental health awareness and share experiences of loneliness that have impacted us in our wellbeing, this will then be addressed with practical steps in reducing the loneliness and taking a step towards a mentally healthy society.

Here are some takes on this week so far on social media:

The chief executive of the Mental Health Foundation, Mark Rowland, said, “Loneliness is affecting more and more of us in the UK and has had a huge impact on our physical and mental health during the pandemic.  That is why we have chosen it as our theme for Mental Health Awareness Week 2022.  Our connection to other people and our community is fundamental to protecting our mental health so we much find better ways of tackling the epidemic of loneliness. We can all play a part in this.  The week is also an invaluable opportunity for people to talk about all aspects of mental health, with a focus on providing help and advice.”