What is University Mental Health Day? How To Get Involved

Thursday 3rd March observes University Mental Health Day. Here’s everything you need to know and how to get involved.

University Mental Health Day (UMHD) is tomorrow. It brings together the university community in efforts to make mental health a university-wide priority.

We’re urging you to join the online movement, learn more about this day, get involved, and use your newfound knowledge to support yourself and your peers. Read on to get clued up and involved in this important cause.

What is University Mental Health Day?

UMHD is affiliated with Student Minds. It’s a day for students passionate about mental health, and those in need of support with the mental health during their studies.

The day is marked to create on-going change, spark conversation, change the way we see mental health and what can be done to better the mental health of students.

When is University Mental Health Day?

​University Mental Health Day 2022 or UHMD 2022 is taking place on Thursday 3rd of March. It’s an annual event that always takes place on the first Thursday of March.

How can I get involved?

Sharing your experience with Mental Health on social media, running your own virtual event, finding what activities are on the day at your university…the possibilities are endless. Here’s some more ideas:

• See what events are running on your campus and get involved that way

• Run a photo campaign and share it on social media and around campus (here’s some photos from last year)

• Run an online quiz

• Run a personal challenge e.g. no alcohol or sugar for a month

• Hold an online meditation group via Zoom

• Write out your experiences on a blog and share them on social media: photo campaigns are great for getting the conversation flowing. Give people a prompt or question to answer and get them to take photos and upload them on social media.

As long as what you’re doing is getting people talking about mental health in students, how you get involved and spread awareness is only limited by the sky.

If you do share on social media, use the #UniMentalHealthDay tag to get your posts seen. UHMD also has a comms pack you can use to share across your socials.

Read: Follow These Influencers To Make Your Social Media A Happier Place.

What resources are available?

Physical resources still aren’t available this year. But Student Minds have a whole host of resources, such as postcards, posters, videos, social media imagery and much more. You can access most of these on the Student Space shared Dropbox.

Feel free to use them to create your own media to spread the word!

How can I fundraise?

Got time to fundraise? Here’s how to do it:

Be mindful that some may still be wary of the pandemic despite restrictions being eased.

• Decide what your fundraiser will be (use some of our ideas above!)

• Plan and register the event using this Google form and be aware of the following:

  • Keeping your event safe

  • Carry out a risk assessment (if hiring a venue)

• Set up a fundraising page (JustGiving, for example)

• Publicise your event on social media and include the tag #UniMentalHealthDay

  • You can even write a post on the Student Minds blog

• Post photos of your event and tag @StudentMindsOrg

• Pay donates forward to the donation page. Any funds raised via a university society must be sent using the Students’ Union’s bank account for compliance.

If you need more guidance on how to fundraise online, email fundraising@studentminds.org.uk.

How to help your peers with their mental health

Providing support to a friend can be challenging, especially if you’re going through things yourself like academic burnout, feel helpless or you’re worried you’ll make them feel worse.

Fortunately, there are ways to offer a listening ear and help your friends feel validated.

Choose where to have the conversation

Pick a quiet place you and your friend will feel relaxed to have a discussion. Maybe you can go for a walk, draw, knit or do something that’s relaxing for the both of you.

Offer to just sit and listen

Sometimes all a friend needs is to just vent their frustrations or talk through their struggles. Listen and don’t speak unless prompted. It could be all it takes for them to work through their emotions.

Don’t worry about not understanding things

Sometimes it can be hard to empathise with an experience you haven’t been through. Ask open questions and avoid asking “whyâ€, as this can come across as judgemental and make your friend question themselves.

Use language that shows you’re listening, like “It sounds as if…’, ‘It seems that…’, ‘What I understand is that…’, ‘So it’s almost as if…’ “that must feel so tough, it’s as if…â€.

Pick the right time

Make sure you have ample time to talk to them. Pick a time when you have nothing urgent on, so you can give them your full attention.

It can be hard to pick a time, but make sure it’s one where they’re not in the thick of a stressful period or in a place where they might be triggered e.g. a park where they were broken up with.

Do small things

Some people prefer not to talk, at least not straight away. There are other acts of kindness to show you care without invading their boundaries.

• Buying an extra treat on your way home for them

• Texting to let them know you’re there when they’re ready to talk

• Make a cup of tea or coffee for them

• Send a funny meme based on the sense of humour they like

• Ask them if they need anything that could help them right now.

Point them in the right direction

Letting them know there’s support out there, without insisting they should seek help will plant a seed and empower them to make the right choice. Sites like Student Space offer tons of support, and it could be worth helping them look into the university’s counselling services.

How will you show support this UMHD? Let us know and tag us too so we can reshare your awareness content!