This week, from the 13th to the 19th May 2019, is Mental Health Awareness Week. Here in the Social Media Team we’ve teamed up with lecturers from our Counselling and Psychotherapy department to spread the message about how crucial it is to recognise that your mental health is just as important as your physical health. When your physical health feels worse for wear what would you normally do? Most people would go to a doctor for help, talk to their loved ones, get some rest and try and nurse their body back to good health. We should always do something similar when our mental health doesn’t feel too good.

So, what we want to know is – what do you do to look after your mental health and wellbeing?

We want to share ideas and inspiration for things we can do to help us maintain good mental health. Share a snap of something that makes you happy with @salforduni Twitter or Instagram and you could be in with a chance of winning a £50 ASOS voucher. Here are some ideas of the types of things we’re looking for…

Do you have a favourite piece of clothing or jewellery that means a lot to you when you wear it?

Do you have a favourite memory or place?

A winding pathway down a forest, with grey and mossy trees towering over on each side of the bath. Red leaves cover the path floor and the trees above have orange and pink leaves.
Photo by John Mccann on Unsplash

Maybe a certain family member, friend or pet always lifts your spirits?

Someone is tickling or stroking the chin of a very happy cat who is lying on a table with it's eyes closed contently.
Photo by Yerlin Matu on Unsplash

Is there a hobby that you have taken up? Or a sport?

A woman with brunette hair in a ponytail wearing sportswear stretching on the ground in a forest.
Photo by Alexander Mils on Unsplash

Or, to tie in with this year’s #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek theme of “body image”, maybe you have a special tattoo that encourages and motivates you every time you look at it?

To take part, just follow the 3️⃣ simple steps below:

How to enter:

  • Take a photo of something that’s meaningful to you, and represents you looking after your mental health.
  • Share your pic on either Twitter or Instagram (either on your story or in the grid).
  • Tag in @salforduni and use the hashtag #SnapHappyMH.
street art that reads 'Believe in yourself' in cursive
Photo by Katrina on Unsplash

Things to know:

  • The competition runs until midnight on Thursday 16th May 2019.
  • Winners will be announced on Friday 17th, with a first prize of a £50 ASOS voucher, and second place prize of a £30 ASOS voucher up for grabs.
  • Entries will be judged based on creativity, originality and inspiration, so we highly encourage you to add captions to really tell your story.
  • Submitted photos may be used on the University of Salford’s social media accounts, and displayed on digital screens across campus. By entering the competition you are giving your consent for your photos to be used for these purposes.

We can’t wait for you guys to tell us your stories! More information about the competition will be shared on the University social media accounts, and remember to keep an eye out for snaps from our student bloggers sharing what makes them happy to kick things off.

*COMPETITION UPDATE*

We are delighted to announce our winner and runner-up of the #SnapHappyMH competition. Our runner up was David Jarvis who shared a photo of him and his friends over on Twitter.

A photo of three men and a woman who has headphones round her neck. They are all sat at a picnic table on campus during a sunny day with beers in front of them. They are all smiling.

David filled us in with some context about his photo and why it represented feeling happy and good wellbeing to him:

“My photo is of a group of us who are all final year undergraduates on the Counselling & Psychotherapy degree. Many of us are mature students and it’s not always easy to find time amidst other commitments to meet up, but we planned in this date to meet and celebrate our development with a few drinks on campus.”

Thank you David!

And finally, our winning photo belonged to Marwa Jameel.

A photo of Marwa wearing a striped knitted beanie, a yellow scarf and navy coat with a fishing rod looking out to a cold looking lake.

Marwa had this to say about her photo:

“Trying something new, unusual and challenging helps you to re-discover your skills and abilities. Trying new things that you enjoy from time to time is a very healthy habit to adapt, I think. This photo was taken in Norway, 2017 where I was trying fishing in a frozen lake for the first time. I was very proud of myself that I tried this challenge.”

At Salford, we’re proud to contribute to vital research into mental health, as well as training the next generation of mental health practitioners through our Counselling and Psychotherapy programme areas. Find out more about the work we do.