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The 15th – 21st of May is Mental Health Week 2023. The week provides a safe space for us all to think about mental health, tackle stigma, and find out how we can create a society that prevents mental health problems from developing and protects our mental well-being. The focus of this year’s campaign is anxiety and what we can all do to recognise and reduce it.
According to the charity Mind in any given week in England, 6 in 100 people will be diagnosed with generalised anxiety disorder, and by the estimation of Mental Health UK who organise Mental Health Week, in the UK, over 8 million people are experiencing an anxiety disorder at any one time.
Lots of things can lead to feelings of anxiety, including work, relationships, starting a new job (or losing one) or other big life events. We can also get anxious when it comes to things to do with money and not being able to meet our basic needs, like heating our home or buying food.
Anxiety is one of the most common mental health problems we can face. In a recent mental health survey we carried out around stress, anxiety and hopelessness over personal finances, a quarter of adults said they felt so anxious that it stopped them from doing the things they want to do some or all of the time. Six in ten adults feel this way, at least some of the time. On a positive note, anxiety can be made easier to manage.
Focusing on anxiety for this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week will increase people’s awareness and understanding of anxiety by providing information on the things that can help prevent it from becoming a problem. At the same time, it will keep up the pressure to demand change – making sure that improving mental health is a key priority for the government and society as a whole.
The Mind Matters Initiative (MMI) created by the RCVS aims to improve the mental health and wellbeing of those in the veterinary team, including students, veterinary nurses, veterinary surgeons and practice managers. MMI was launched in 2015 and is funded and run by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS), the regulatory body for veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses in the UK. The Mind Matters Initiative recognises how important it is to provide veterinary professionals with the tools they need to look after their mental health.
Working in the veterinary profession is challenging and evidence shows that veterinary professionals are at a higher risk of suffering from common mental health problems such as anxiety than the general population.
It is important to be able to develop an understanding about what anxiety is, and how and why it manifests in the way it does in order to be able to develop effective personal coping strategies.
Mental Health UK have organised a host of different activities and resources to help you participate in this year’s campaign. Discover more via https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/our-work/public-engagement/mental-health-awareness-week or visit the Mind Matters Initiative.
