“Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood” – MentalHealth.Gov

1. Educate ourselves and each other:
   In order to start increasing mental health awareness you must first have some knowledge about it. You can find out so much information online but make sure you use trustworthy sources, such as the NHS website. Learning about factors that can lead to a mental health disorder as well as factors that can help cope with the disorder is a good starting point.
2. Focus on the individual:
   This is so important. It is too often that people focus on the disorders rather than the individual suffering from it. Raising awareness should be mindful of the individuals who are suffering. IF you are helping someone who is suffering from a mental disorder it is important to really listen to them. Not everyone experiences mental health disorders in the same way so it is vital to listen to how they are personally experiencing it. It is also important to remember that their mental health disorder does not define who they are. People have so many characteristics that make them who they are, so remember to focus on the person.
3. Spread awareness:
   This one is straight forward. To help others better their understanding of mental health it is important to spread your knowledge and current awareness. Even if it is briefly mentioned in a conversation it still matters because the more people that talk about mental health leads to a wider awareness of it.
4. Make an effort to tackle taboo topics:
   Some topics are hard to talk about and some disorders are ignored. It is important to include the difficult topics surrounding mental health because it is harder to help if only half the picture is understood. While talking about topics that are taboo can be difficult now, hopefully in the long run it will become easier because more people are open to talking.
5. Refrain from using stereotypes and using mental health terms in the wrong situation:
   One way to help mental health awareness is to use the mental health terms in the correct context. I often hear people say that they are feeling ‘depressed’ in situations that you would might say that you are sad or tired. Depression is a mental health term used when you have been experiencing the symptoms for a long period of time. When people use mental health terms in the wrong situation it can take away the seriousness of the condition, leading to the false belief that being depressed is as common as just feeling sad.
6. Share your story:
   Sharing your own personal experience is helpful to those who are also suffering because it tells them that they are not alone. In particular, sharing stories in relation to reaching out for help is useful as it can encourage other to seek help as well. However, mental health isn’t linear so stories that reflect the relapses that can occur are just as important because recovery can be a struggle.
7. Talk to the people around you to see how they are feeling:
   Just talking to the people around you will help. The more you open up to the people surrounding you, the more comfortable others will feel in doing the same. We all experience so many feelings so why not talk to people about them, making it the norm to express and explore how you are feeling with people around you.
8. Write a blog to raise awareness:
   So this might not be for everybody but blogs are a great way to share your thoughts and feelings and raise awareness for mental health. This blog was created with the purpose to spread mental health awareness, however, you don’t have to create a blog solely dedicated to mental health. Just one post could help raise awareness so why not help?
9. Using hashtags on social media:
   This one is in relation to the previous point. There are so many social media platforms which reach a wide audience. As such, using hashtags will allow you to reach the wider audience – the more people that see the awareness the better!
10. Share helplines and places where people can find out more information:
    So this is always helpful because you never know who might need to speak to someone. Maybe someone reading this wants to speak to someone – if so, there is a link to a NHS website that lists mental health helplines that specialise in different areas.

Here are some links for you to find out more information:
NHS mental health helplines page: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/mental-health-helplines/
Mental health and work: https://www.who.int/mental_health/media/en/712.pdf
NHS 5 steps to mental wellbeing: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/improve-mental-wellbeing/
Mental Health Foundation Campaigns: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/our-work/campaigns
Mind mental health awareness course: https://www.mind.org.uk/workplace/training-consultancy/upcoming-courses/mental-health-awareness/