As we all prepare to ring in the new year and celebrate the festive season with our friends, family or found-family, perhaps it’s worth considering how open we have been in conversation about mental health in 2023.
MQ are glancing back at the year gone by to see how mental health has featured in the public eye. Who has been talking openly and what have we all been talking about? And how has MQ been a part of the conversation?
January
MQ began the year talking about how taking on a challenge can be great for your mental health and ahead of Eating Disorders awareness Week we covered how recovery can be a balancing act.
Alongside MQ other UK mental health charities had an important role in pushing the mental health conversation forward including Mind and their sister charity Rethink Mental Illness. So many other charities continued to play a vital role such as B-eat the UK’s leading eating disorders charity and OCD UK and Bipolar UK and so many more.
February
Children’s Mental Health Week prompted conversation around and why children’s mental health matters so much right now and what we can all do, for free, to help children struggling right now. MQ also shared some fascinating facts we all could benefit from knowing about children’s mental wellbeing.
Eating disorders awareness week’s theme helped raised awareness and focus on the fact that many men are affected by eating disorders.
March
For World Bipolar Day, MQ examined how bipolar disorder has been portrayed in pop culture.
For Stress Awareness Month MQ discussed ‘stress and mental health’ examined which were the Most Stressful Industries To Work In and How Creativity Creates Less Stress.
May
Celebrities joined together to get people thinking about getting more physical to help with their mental health in a new government campaign ‘Better Health – Every Mind Matters’. comedian, Tom Davis, TV and NHS doctor, Dr Ranj Singh, and leading psychologist, Dr Linda Papadopoulos featured in the campaign.
The most popular article on MQ’s website in 2023 was inspired by Mental Health’s Awareness Week’s theme of ‘anxiety’. The most read article looked into what is different between anxiety and anxiety disorder. Our second most popular article outlined the different types of anxiety disorder and the third most popular was our mental health awareness week page.
GymShark in the USA and UK launched a campaign ‘Some Weight Are Easier To Lift Than Others’ partnering with CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably) and the JED foundation. They also opened a pop-up barber shop where men can chat with mental health-trained barbers and receive a free haircut.
In the USA Acuvue launched an advertising campaign noting the impact viewing social media can have on our mental health. This is in line with a new research study supported by MQ which is launching in 2024.
The UK conversation around mental health was engaged with by the UK Government highlighting what they’ve done and continue to do to support mental health in the nation.
In line with Pride month, MQ Ambassador Amazin LeThi shared her incredible story of storytelling, strength and hope in an in depth interview for our website.
July
MQ launched the First Ever Research Appreciation Day, returning again in 2024 on the first Wednesday of July. The brand new awareness day, created by MQ this year, aims to take one day a year to help us all focus on the work of health researchers changing all our lives for the better around the world.
Interested in Research Appreciation Day? You can join in next year! And every year after that! Just use the hashtag #researchappreciationday and download other media assets, and you can volunteer to participate in research or, if you’re even more eager to get involved immediately, you can find out more about the world of research now. The easiest thing to do though is to sign up to receive updates on research in our fortnightly newsletter.
August
Photography exhibition ‘Art of London Presents Take A Moment 2023’ began in London featuring famous people with eyes closed for mental health awareness. The fabulous images lining some of the most famous streets of London included snaps of Brian Cox, Fatboy Slim, Louis Theroux, members of Queen, Olly Murs, Aisling Bea, Eddie Izzard, Damien Lewis and Oti Mabuse.
ITV launched an advert for ‘Britain Get Talking’ broaching the subject on mental health. The campaign challenged the nation to do homework to ease our stress and reduce anxiety by encouraging people to talk about what’s troubling us. This was inspired by and NHS Survey that showed mental wellness has declined in around 40% of school children in the UK.
Suicide Prevention Day began conversations around suicide, including on MQ’s website where we covered facts about suicide and how to talk about thoughts of suicide.
October
World Mental Health Day on 10 October, with the theme of ‘mental health is a human right’, prompted several celebrities to go public with their mental health experiences.
Selena Gomez shared on Instagram about her mental health struggles. Gomez made a documentary about her bipolar diagnosis in 2022 called My Mind and Me, winning an award for mental health awareness.
An advert made by a football club went viral. The advert called ‘Check in on Those Around You’ was launched by Norwich City Football club. The team ran the very popular ad campaign to encourage people to chat to those around you more openly.
Comedian Romesh Ranganathan became an ambassador for CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably) and spoke about why he chose to do so.
November
On UK TV series Strictly Come Dancing, contestant and tennis star Annabel Croft danced an emotional couples choice which led to her talking about the grief of losing her husband. The following month fellow Strictly contestant and actor Layton Williams spoke about being bullied by trolls online during the series and the challenge to his mental wellness that posed.
December
MQ ambassador Hope Virgo continues her Dump The Scales Campaign nationally in the UK to change the policies around treatment for eating disorders.
MQ also published our first book this year with our partners at Enigma Wellness. Watch this space for details on how to buy the book directly from MQ, and help fund vital mental health research.
“Filled with expert knowledge and real-life experiences that will resonate with many readers, this book is perfect for anyone who wants to learn more about different mental health conditions.” Gemma Styles, MQ Ambassador
The conversation only moves forward if we make progress in service provision, prevention, intervention and, most of all, hopefulness. Which is why research matters. Research informs all systemic change, including political change. So thank you for supporting MQ Mental Health Research.
Read more about highlights of progress in 2023 for the world of mental health research here and take a look at how mental health featured in politics this year here.
The post Let’s Talk About It: Mental Health In Conversation In 2023 first appeared on MQ Mental Health Research.