With World Mental Health Day and World Mental Health Week arriving in early October, it’s time to brainstorm ideas for promoting mental health awareness and wellbeing.
World Mental Health Day is 10 October every year, so we’ve gathered together some World Mental Health Week activities that can both entertain and provide a real service to others.
Ideas for promoting mental health awareness in the community
We can all benefit from improving our mental health and that of our communities as a whole. Almost everyone knows someone who’s struggled in the past, or is struggling now, with anxiety or depression. Scale up your events and extend your reach with these ideas for community mental health events.
1. Host a breakfast or morning tea
You could invite a psychologist or mental health professional to lead a discussion over toast and hot drinks, providing tips and techniques for handling stress, anger, and more. Your breakfast or morning tea event could become a weekly or monthly series, with a different topic for each event, to appeal to your busy attendees.
2. Host a mental health seminar
Event creators can organise a panel of psychologists or mental health professionals to talk to attendees about mental health, giving them practical tips and advice. If you’re planning a seminar, use our seminar planning checklist.
Frankston City Council offers free half day “Mental Health Matters” workshops that are run by the Red Cross. In this practical and strategic workshop, participants develop action plans that provide early intervention strategies and support to reduce the impact of mental health issues.
3. Raise some funds
You could connect with a local organisation providing services for mental health and make your event a fundraiser for them. Partner with a mental health service for veterans or those who are incarcerated, or perhaps promote a clinic that treats eating disorders. There are lots of effective activities for fundraisers, such as:
- Fun run/walk
- Auction
- Gala dinner
- Car boot sale
Tag Along Crew 4×4 are taking fundraising for mental health awareness to a whole new level of fun with their annual “Queensland Muddy for Mental Health 2023”. For people who are into four-wheel driving and those just along for the ride, this traditional bush bash includes live music, food vans, prizes and giveaways. A popular event, the goal is to raise funds and awareness for the Black Dog Institute.
4. Host a film screening
Screen a mental health-themed film or documentary to engage your audience, then follow it up with a Q&A or discussion led by a psychologist or counsellor. Choose from popular Hollywood titles like “Silver Linings Playbook”, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”, and “A Beautiful Mind”, or you could go for a lesser-known documentary, such as “Hiding in Plain Sight”, about the mental health crisis affecting young people. Another important day that you might like to highlight is that May 23 is World Infant, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Day.
5. Help in a crisis
Knowing what to do in a crisis can be lifesaving. You could set up a crisis-training course to equip community leaders with the tools to handle any mental health crisis, such as depression, trauma, suicidal thoughts, and alcohol or substance abuse. Coordinate with a clinic or hospital for guidance and to increase your reach.
Worklinks Qld Ltd run mental health first aid courses where participants learn practical skills to support people experiencing mental health problems.
6. Host an event for World Mental Health Day
World Mental Health Day is set aside for activities focused on improving mental health for individuals and communities as a whole. By planning World Mental Health Day activities, companies, and organisations can connect with their communities and show support for their employees and volunteers. Many companies and organisations will take the opportunity to celebrate with events that raise awareness and reduce the stigma around mental health topics.
Consider featuring activities that relieve stress and uplift the spirit, such as:
- Yoga or similar physical exercise that relieves tension and tightness
- Meditation or observance of silence
- Share sessions led by a therapist or counsellor
Remember to think of ways to make your event as accessible as possible, whether that means making accommodation for attendees who use a wheelchair or offering a virtual component so that those who prefer to stay safe at home can still enjoy the event.
7. Host a dance party
Dance and exercise have many benefits for mental health. Hosting a dance party could change up the usual mental health-focused fare. You could host a virtual dance party, with participants joining in the fun from afar. Make it an ’80s-themed disco and you could have some extra entertainment with mullet wigs and creative costumes.
8. Bring in the pets
Include furry friends in your World Mental Health Week activities! Playing with pets can provide mental health benefits such as reducing anxiety and depression, while also reducing blood pressure. You could consider:
- Hosting a morning tea for pets, with tasty treats for pets and their owners alike
- Organising a trip to an animal shelter or rescue facility for volunteer work
- Visiting a petting zoo or a farm that allows you to milk the cows
- See below for goat yoga, a fun and very cool combination!
9. Get social
Socialising is beneficial for your brain health in general. In addition to improving moods and providing a sense of belonging and security, socialisation can sharpen memory and cognitive skills. It may even help people to live longer. For your World Mental Health Week activities, think speed dating for friends, or bringing people together through a shared interest. This can be an in-person or virtual event.
Poker Face Health run in-person, social mental health events with a difference. In collaboration with CSC Boxing Gym in Brisbane, they host poker nights at the gym to raise awareness for men’s mental health.
10. Organise a tree planting day
The mental health benefits associated with volunteering and being immersed in nature are well recognised. You could organise a tree planting day to improve mental health awareness and, at the same time, benefit the mental wellbeing of your guests.
Event creators In My Nature host Forest Therapy at the Geelong Botanic Gardens where you can slow down and connect to nature through the senses in some stunning surroundings.
Workshop ideas for mental health awareness
Designing workshops to improve mental health combines awareness with action to protect against depression and stress and improve mindfulness and serenity. These workshops work well as mental health awareness virtual events, allowing anyone with an internet connection to participate in the workshop and improve their mental wellbeing.
11. Host a stress-reduction workshop
Stress is one of the most common mental health afflictions, so a workshop dedicated to resolving it can have an outsized impact. Help attendees identify stressors and reduce tension by including stress-relieving activities like:
- Physical activity, such as dance, athletics, or exercise
- Organising items, such as multi-coloured pins or patterns
- Silent meditation or repeating mantras for extended periods of time
- Laughing
- Yoga sessions
- Breathing exercises
12. Teach a cooking class
Teach participants how to create healthy meals and include tricks for staying true to a healthy lifestyle. Diet choices can address mental health in a positive and proactive way. It has long been recognised that foods that specifically benefit the brain include green leafy vegetables, fatty fish, berries, walnuts, and even tea and coffee, so feature recipes that include these ingredients.
13. Host a yoga session
Yoga and physical exercise are excellent methods for relieving tension and stress, improving your mood, and enhancing mindfulness. Engage a yoga teacher to lead a session, which can be held in a gym or studio or, if the weather permits, at a park or beach. Use World Mental Health Week as a way to encourage newcomers to try yoga by first organising a “try-out” session. Then keep the momentum going by promoting ongoing sessions that can help your attendees maintain physical and mental health throughout the year.
Event creators Kamably are a fitness company that provides yoga with a difference in Brisbane and on the Gold Coast. Their Breath-in, Bleat-OUT “Goat Yoga” events harness the vibrant energy of baby goats whilst embodying the peaceful art of meditation. While the cute fur babies nibble, nuzzle, and bleat for attention, participants can’t help but smile and take a few selfies.
14. Meditation and mindfulness
Meditation is renowned for its calming effect and the way it reduces stress. And since stress is a key factor in driving anxiety and depression, practicing meditation and mindfulness can significantly improve your mental health. Include meditation as part of a range of health-oriented activities at a spiritual retreat. While this involves stillness and quiet, mindfulness can be practiced alongside a wide range of activities, including:
- Colouring, whether it’s crayons and a colouring book or paints and a canvas
- Walking meditation, such as a walk around a park
- Eating, allowing yourself to reflect on the flavours and textures of your food
- Gardening, including vegetable gardens, flower gardens, or both
Event creators Samantha Hill take a holistic approach with their “LOTUS Free Pamper Days for Chronic Illness, Mental Health, Disabled and Carers”, run with the help of a team of community volunteers.
15. Showing gratitude
Undertaking regular gratitude practice is beneficial to your mental health and wellbeing. Studies have shown that those who express gratitude regularly generally have a more positive outlook on life and less depression.
Consider offering a workshop that explores various ways of building gratitude – such as journaling, meditating, and expressing thanks to those around you. You could include blank journals and special pens to distribute to attendees to get them started. Consider the stationery and equipment required and include these within your event costs.
16. DIY
There are definite mental health benefits to be gained from short-term goal setting and the satisfaction of looking back at your accomplishments. Crafting and DIY can achieve these goals, and both of those activities have been trending in popularity for a while now. Set up a workshop that enables participants to develop DIY skills that build their creativity. Be sure to provide any necessary tools and supplies, and don’t forget to take photographs to showcase the new creations. Or, make it a virtual event – simply ship the required materials to registered online participants before the event so everyone can participate in mental health awareness online.
Choose from a wide range of crafts and skills to feature, including:
- Woodworking
- Jewellery making
- Candle making
- Painting or sketching
- Lino printmaking
- Knitting and needlework
Make a difference this World Mental Health Week
Ultimately, World Mental Health Week and World Mental Health Day offer excellent opportunities for event creators to make a real difference in the lives of eventgoers. Now that you have lots of ideas to celebrate mental health at any time of the year, use Eventbrite to put your event together quickly and easily – with an array of tools and features that make it simple to organise and market any wellness event.
