Mental Health Awareness Week 2025 will take place between May 12th to May 18th. This week serves as an opportunity to become educated about, openly discuss, and promote mental health. Each year celebrates a new theme, and this year’s theme is community!
Mental Health Awareness Week 2025 will take place between May 12th to May 18th. This week serves as an opportunity to become educated about, openly discuss, and promote mental health. Each year celebrates a new theme, and this year’s theme is community!
Community serves an important role in our everyday lives and can give us a sense of purpose, belonging, and positive support. Community can take the form of close friends that you can speak to when feeling low, groups of the people you meet in societies and clubs, and can extend even wider: for example, volunteering to support the local community. In addition, social support via community can aid as a preventative measure against social isolation, which is often associated with mental health difficulties. So, what can you do this Mental Health Awareness Week to promote your own mental health, as well those around you?
Mental Health Awareness Week falls during the May exam period this year, which is often a challenging time for students. Becoming overwhelmed from exam stress may result in falling into unhealthy habits and becoming isolated. So, use this time to send a quick text checking up on your friends, arrange a study and coffee session, or make plans to celebrate together once exams are over. Yet, regardless of exam season or not, when you notice a friend seems unlike their usual self, offer to be a listening ear for them – it might mean more to them than you realise. However, forcing somebody to share their personal difficulties - even if they are a close friend - might create an uncomfortable sense of pressure, resulting in reluctance to speak out.
If your friend seems to be struggling, this can take a toll on your mental health as well. In this case, it is especially important to implement self-care into your routine, as it is often easier to control your personal mental health and wellbeing than that of others. This can be achieved by prioritising your physical health to promote mental wellbeing, including getting 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night, exercising often, eating nutritiously, and learning to manage overwhelming emotions through mindfulness and breathing exercises. Additionally, keep in mind the university’s free wellbeing services if you find you need support:
Take the opportunity to explore the tabs under the Advice page of the RHSU Website for additional information about the type of support you require.
There are also a number of free mental health support services external from the university:
Lastly, keep an eye out for the event calendar with details of all the fun stressbusters events throughout Mental Health Awareness Week. In fact, there is an event each day during the month of May, which is an excellent way to connect with others and unwind between exams! So, however you decide to spend your Mental Health Awareness Week, be sure to check up on loved ones, remember the communities you are a part of, and take good care of yourself.
The Advice Centre
We offer a range of support on Academic Appeals and Extenuating Circumstances. If you’ve already read through our web pages and can’t find the information you’re after, it’s easy to see an Advisor! Email us at advice@su.rhul.ac.uk with your query and we can book you in for a meeting.
We also hold weekly drop-in sessions on Zoom and in person during term time. Check out our Events Calendar here to find out when the next drop-in is.