Photo credit (above): Turn Up the Sound, 2022
In 2021, MTV and TaskForce launched the first Mental Health Action Day to shift the culture of mental health from awareness to action. With almost 2,000 partners and millions of individual participants from across 32 countries, this year we’re focused on deepening our impact.
The third-annual Mental Health Action Day is Thursday, May 18, which is during Mental Health Month in May. This year, we’re asking: What if everyone on Earth took one hour to do something for their mental health?
Everyone has their own ability to drive change and support Mental Health Action Day in the way that works best for them. There is no one-size-fits-all approach. This is an open-source effort for all who want to use their megaphones to drive our culture from awareness to action. Register as an official Mental Health Action Day Partner.
Together, we will work to reach people around the world and empower them to dedicate one hour for themselves, their loved ones, or their community.
Check out these tips for hosting an event focused on mental health actions.
1. Identify Your Audience
It’s always helpful to determine your audience before you plan any event. Driving mental health actions can be very personal, so it’s a good exercise to reflect on who your audience is, and what they care about before you select your mental health action.
For example, is your audience:
- Your employees or team
- Your community or clients
- The general public
2. Choose Your Mental Health Action
We encourage you to identify a mental health action that can be done in one hour, then promote that action before, during, and after Mental Health Action Day. This action can be unique to you and your audience, or you can leverage our incredible Mental Health Action Network, filled with resources and mental health providers.
10 Example Mental Health Actions:
- An event with a mental health professional as a keynote or on a panel
- A mental health fair with creative activations like drawing, painting, storytelling, and resources
- Disconnect from technology or the news
- A walk outdoors
- Meditation
- Yoga or a fitness class
- Share a meal together (this could be livestreamed if your audience is distributed)
- Reach out to a friend or loved one
- Schedule that first therapy session or recovery meeting
- Split up the hour throughout the day, including 15 minutes of mindfulness in the morning, a 30-minute break during lunch, and 15 minutes of reflection before bed
Looking for more event ideas? Check out these 16 Mental Health Event Ideas.
3. Get on Calendars ASAP
Once you have your Mental Health Action selected, begin planning your event starting with your registration form on Eventbrite.
Start promoting your event as early as possible, so your audience has time to schedule this onto their calendar.
The sooner you can start the marketing and promotions, the better chance you have for your audience to schedule their one-hour mental health action with you. We have a library of GIF content that you’re encouraged to use.
The official Mental Health Action Day hashtag is #MentalHealthAction.
Access our Partner Toolkit, including:
- Partner briefs
- GIF library
- Promotional graphics
- Logos
Make a Difference This Mental Health Action Day
We’re calling for coordinated action among businesses, organizations, advocacy groups, schools, individuals, and leaders worldwide to join us on Mental Health Action Day this May 18.
We invite you, in whatever capacity you have, to activate your personal or organizational resources to drive mental health actions.
Now is the time to invest in mental health actions.
Join us and learn more at https://mentalhealthactionday.org
