Mental Health Awareness Week 2023

It’s Mental Health Awareness Week 2023 (15-21 May), an important campaign led by the Mental Health Foundation that gives an opportunity to learn more about the issues surrounding mental health and ways to improve mental wellbeing.

Every year, communities come together to decide ways on how society can be more compassionate, supportive and aware in relation to mental health.

The theme for this year is anxiety. Anxiety is a normal emotion everyone feels, however, sometimes it can get out of control and become a mental health issue.

If you experience anxiety yourself, know that you are by no means on your own. A quarter of adults reported feeling anxious to the point where they stopped doing activities they wanted to do 'some' or 'all' of time in the Mental Health Foundation’s recent survey.

This can be particularly pronounced for unpaid carers of all ages. In the Carers Trust Young Carer Survey, released this March, 44% 'always' or 'usually' felt stressed because of being a young carer or young adult carer. Adult carers can also experience mental health issues especially around financial stress in the cost-of-living crisis, exemplified by the Carers Trust Adult Carer Survey released in November 2022, reporting that 14% of unpaid carers were using a food bank.

If you’re experiencing anxiety and want to speak to someone who understands what it's like to be an unpaid carers, you can find your local carer centre here for support.

You can also find a range of resources on mental health and anxiety-related issues on our website and social media channels this week, including the blogs and video below.

This video on the 'My Mental Health' project, run by Carers Trust, brought together young carers and young adult carers to discuss mental health, anxiety and ways to overcome mental health issues.