The Every Mind Matters campaign advocates a range of self-care actions to promote good mental health and tackle common problems, as well as signposting wider resources and services for those in greater need.
Through the campaign’s content and navigation tool, our aim is for 1 million adults to be better informed and equipped to look after their own mental health and support others.
It is increasingly recognised that taking care of our mental health is as important as maintaining good physical health. A new PHE survey reveals 83% of people have experienced early signs of poor mental health including feeling anxious, stressed, having low mood, or trouble sleeping in the last 12 months.
While these can be a natural response to life’s challenges, they can become more serious if people wait too long before taking action.
Over a quarter (27%) of people who experienced signs of poor mental health waited at least six months before taking action, with three-quarters of those who waited this long wishing they had acted sooner.
Our health is affected by our circumstances, including having a job, friends and a roof over our heads. Anxiety, stress, low mood and trouble sleeping can affect everyone. Every Mind Matters aims to help people to better handle life’s ups and downs.
The new platform, which has been endorsed by the Royal College of General Practitioners, enables people to create a personalised action plan recommending a set of self-care actions to deal with stress, boost mood, improve sleep, and feel in control.
Every Mind Matters is evidence-based and it shows people how to build simple changes into their daily lives, such as reframing unhelpful thoughts, breathing exercises, and increasing physical activity.
All of these have well evidenced impact on improving and maintaining good mental health, which can help people to get more out of life, feel and function better, have more positive relationships and manage difficult times.
The campaign is backed by a coalition of mental health charities and champions including Mind, Mental Health Foundation, MHFA England, Samaritans, Heads Together, Centre for Mental Health, Rethink, Time to Change, NSUN, What Works Centre for Wellbeing, and Good Thinking.
This new resource is available for the public and for use by health care professionals as they support their patients.