Mental Health Awareness Week takes place this year from 13–19 May. The theme, as set by the Mental Health Foundation, is ‘Movement: moving for our mental health.’ This year, the Foundation says ‘We want you to move your way by finding something that moves your body and mind. Movement is important for our mental health. But so many of us struggle to move enough. We know there are many different reasons for this, so this Mental Health Awareness Week we want to help people to find moments for movement in their daily routines’.
According to NHS England (2024), social prescribing is an all-age, whole population approach that works well for people who have one or more long-term conditions, who need support with low level mental health issues, who are lonely or isolated and who have complex social needs that affect their wellbeing. The NHS Long Term Plan (2016) pledged more funding for social prescribing and its benefits for patients, families and communities, as a way of patients taking control of their own health.
In 2023 a systematic review (Singh et al, 2023) found that physical activity is ‘highly beneficial for improving symptoms of depression, anxiety and distress across a wide range of adult populations, including the general population, people with diagnosed mental health disorders and people with chronic disease’. The authors concluded that physical activity should be a mainstay approach in the management of depression, anxiety and psychological distress.
Further, four meta-analyses on effects of physical exercise on mental and physical in depression were analysed. It found that for mild to moderate depression, the effect of exercise may be comparable with antidepressant medication and psychotherapy; for severe depression, exercise seems to be a valuable complementary therapy to the traditional treatments. Exercise therapy also improves physical health, body image, patient's coping strategies with stress, quality of life, and independence in activities of daily living in older adults.
For more information about Mental Health Awareness Week visit: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk.