Mental Health Awareness Week 2024

Otto Simon • May 10, 2024

Mental Health Awareness Week is back for 2024 and Otto Simon’s Mental Health First Responders have some top tips for looking after your mental health. 

Taking place from the 13th—19th May, the theme of this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week is: “Movement: Moving more for our mental health”. The idea is to encourage everyone to find a way to move for both their body and mind, in a way that suits them, to benefit their mental health.


Physical Wellbeing focuses on looking after your physical health and is key to supporting your overall health and wellbeing, including your mental health. Physical wellbeing is related not only to staying active but also encompasses sleep and nutrition. Exercising is great for both our body and minds with research from Mental Health UK showing that 56% of people find that exercising regularly helped them to alleviate stress and prevent burnout. Studies show that movement and physical activity helps our mental health by:


  • Managing stress
  • Improving our mood
  • Improving sleep
  • Improving self-esteem
  • Encourages us to set and achieve goals
  • Meet new people and spend time with others.


However, there can be barriers to movement and so this year’s theme of ‘movement’ is all about moving your way. It could be something as simple as getting off the bus, train or tram a stop early, or moving during a 1-to-1 meeting.


With May (hopefully) signalling warmer weather, you might want to get outdoors a little more to move. Below are some links to local Greater Manchester walking routes, as well as some national information pages:



Otto Simon takes the mental health and wellbeing of our staff very seriously. We have appointed two Mental Health First Responders who have undertaken training from St John Ambulance. If you or a colleague need emotional support, talking to them could be the first step to feeling better so please don’t hesitate to reach out. 

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