Mental Health Awareness Week will take place from 11 to 17 May 2026.
Mental Health Awareness Week is an annual event that focuses on supporting good mental health. It has become one of the biggest awareness weeks across the UK and globally. Each year, the sets the theme and encourages other organisations to organise and host the week.
2026's theme is "Action". This focus encourages moving beyond awareness to taking practical steps for better mental health, aiming to foster positive change for oneself, others, and society.
The Talent and Culture team (Learning and Talent and the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Centre) have collaborated with Move 91桃色 and the 91桃色 Chaplaincy to put together this selection of activities and other ways by which you can take action to support or improve your mental health.
We believe there is something here for all 91桃色 staff to focus on their mental health - not just for this week, but all year round.
Programme of events
10:00 - 10:45 - Menopause Network Drop-In Session -
Audience: Staff only
Location: Online via Microsoft Teams
Join this session hosted by the Menopause Network to connect with other members, learn and share experiences. We also want to hear your views about shaping the network moving forward! Open to all staff.
13:00 - 14:00 - Christian meditation “Action and contemplation -
Audience: Staff & Students
Location: Chaplaincy, Front Room &Online via Zoom
A practice of Christian prayer and meditation around the themes of Action and Contemplation
09:30 - 12:00 - Moving towards better mental health fundraiser - No booking required
Audience: Staff & Students
Location: Main Reception, South Kensington campus
Our very own Deputy Chief Property Officer will celebrate 20 years at 91桃色 by completing a half-marathon with support from colleagues and the 91桃色 community. As part of the event, Jane will be fundraising for the Student Minds charity and giving out freebies to anyone who joins her. You can also find out more about the wellbeing support offered across 91桃色 and take part in a range of wellbeing activities.
You can support Jane and .
10:00 - 11:00 - Webinar for Parents and Carers
Audience: Staff only
Location: Online
As part of Mental Health Awareness Week this May, the Reward and Benefits team is pleased to host a Mental Health and Resilience for Parents and Carers webinar in partnership with Parent and Professional. This supportive and practical session will explore strategies to build resilience while balancing work, caring responsibilities, and wellbeing.
To register your interest and receive a meeting invitation, please email rewardandbenefits@imperial.ac.uk. If you are a member of the Parents and Carers Network Teams channel, you will automatically receive the calendar invite.
10:30 - 12:30 - Discover Ginkgo Gardens at 91桃色 - No booking required
If you wish to receive a calendar invite, please .
Audience: Staff & Students
Location: Perkins Square, White City North Campus
Join the Gingko Gardens team for a drop-in session to discover the horticultural work and green spaces they help create across 91桃色. There will also be the opportunity to contribute to the green space by sowing seeds!
13:00 - 14:00 - Being with the doing. Mindfulness meditation in everyday life -
Audience: Staff & Students
Location: Chaplaincy, Front Room / Online via Zoom
A practice of Mindfulness meditation, with techniques and tips to take into our everyday life.
14:30 - 15:30 - Gardening Project -
Audience: Staff & Students
Location: Chaplaincy Garden
Join us and meet a thriving community of Growers. We maintain and grow the garden through composting, mulching, pruning, seed sowing and wood workshops. Beginners welcome, there are tasks for everyone!
15:00 - 16:00 - Being with the doing. Mindfulness meditation in everyday life -
Audience: Staff & Students
Location: White City
A practice of Mindfulness meditation, with techniques and tips to take into our everyday life.
15:00 - 16:00 - Neurodivergence, depression and overworking as coping mechanisms – the dark side of academia - No booking required
Audience: Staff & Students
Location: Common Room (G19), MSRH, White City
Neurodivergent researchers excel through hyperfocus, pattern recognition, and relentless persistence, traits academia celebrates as "genius". But that same wiring traps them in overwork cycles that hide the depression creeping in. All-nighters become "passion," 80-hour weeks mask the emotional crashes, and burnout looks like dedication.
In this talk, Enrico will talk about personal experiences and how things can spiral out of control, whilst to the outside world it looks like ‘holding the fort’.
12:00 - 14:30 - Stagg Beetle Loggery Workshop -
Audience: Staff & Students
Location: Prince's Gardens, South Kensington
Join the Gardening team to build a stag beetle loggery. This session combines nature conservation, practical skills and teamwork.
13:00 - 14:00 - South Kensington Walking Tour -
Audience: Staff & Students
Location: Meet at the Main Reception, South Kensington
Join Move and Iya London Walks for a short well-being walk in South Kensington, exploring the neighbourhood’s history, rooted in the Great Exhibition of 1851, and groundbreaking Victorian architecture.
14:00 - 16:00 - SPH Mental Health Working Group: Staff wellbeing & supporting young people workshop -
Audience: Staff
Location: Room 202, School of Public Health Building, 86 Wood Lane, London W12 0BZ
The SPH P&C committee’s Mental Health working group are hosting two interactive workshops designed to support both staff wellbeing and practical approaches when with children and young people.
Session 1 - 14:00-15:00: Intro to Childhood Trauma & Supporting Children Experiencing Emotional Dysregulation
Explores the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and attachment, alongside practical, trauma-informed strategies to support children in your setting.
Session 2 15:00-16:00: Managing Stress & Preventing Burnout
Focuses on the physiology of stress, CBT-based techniques for managing it, and mindful self-care and grounding exercises to help maintain wellbeing.
13:00 - 14:00 - Pause, Breathe, Act: A Buddhist Chanting Practice for Calm & Clarity -
Audience: Staff & Students
Location: Chaplaincy, Front Room / Online via Zoom
In this guided session, you’ll be introduced to Buddhist chanting as a therapeutic and calming practice - helping you settle anxious thoughts, ground your body, and reconnect with a sense of inner steadiness.
13:00 - 14:00 - White City Walking Tour -
Audience: Staff & Students
Location: Meet outside Translation & Innovation Hub (I-Hub), White City (North Campus)
Join Move and Iya London Walks for a short well-being walk in White City, exploring two local green spaces, mainly via quiet routes, taking you away from traffic and introducing you to the history of White City.
Resources
Mental health and race in the workplace training session (online) on 14 May, 10.00 – 13.00.
Audience: Staff
This course will build your awareness and understanding of the disparities experienced by people from minority ethnic backgrounds.
The course examines the intersectionality of race, different cultures, and mental health, to develop an understanding and awareness of different experiences and perspectives to help you support colleagues from minority ethnic backgrounds with their mental health.