Here's when this year's Mental Health Awareness Week takes place - and how to get involved

Mental Health Awareness week takes place every year, raising awareness of mental health conditions and having a dedicated theme to enable open conversations.

But when does it take place this year, what is the theme and how can people get involved?

Here’s what you need to know.

What is Mental Health Awareness Week?

Mental Health Awareness Week is an annual event which was started by the Mental Health Foundation 21 years ago, and focuses on achieving good mental health in the UK.

Each year, the Foundation sets a theme for the week and the event has grown to become well-known both across the UK and globally.

The Foundation says that Mental Health Awareness Week is open to everyone, and is “all about starting conversations about mental health and the things in our daily lives that can affect it.”

When is Mental Health Awareness Week 2021?

This year, Mental Health Awareness Week is from Monday 10 May until Sunday 16 May 2021.

What is this year’s theme?

This year’s theme is nature, and the Foundation says the topic was chosen as being in nature is known to be an effective way of tackling mental health problems, and also of protecting our wellbeing.

The Foundation’s website said that this “seemed particularly important this year - in the year of a pandemic,” and that their own research has shown that being in nature has been “one of the most popular ways the public have tried to sustain good mental health at a challenging time.”