Thursday, May 30, 2019
May and Mental Health Awareness Month may be coming to an end this week, but the conversation around mental health and wellness doesn’t have to stop. In fact, mental health conversations have already been making the rounds this year – from the
world recording egg cracking under the pressure of social media, to a renewed debate on the effects of
“13 Reasons Why” on its teens viewers, to actors including
Sophie Turner and
Maisie Williams talking about their firsthand experiences with mental illness. Although the stigma still exists and talking to someone about a challenge can seem overwhelming and scary, having conversations about mental well being out in the open can help save lives. So it shouldn’t be surprising that brands are recognizing the importance of these issues to their audiences and joining in on the conversation.
Here’s a roundup of how a few brands talked about mental health this month:
Instagram starts a #RealConvo
The effects of social media on people’s mental well being is complicated and still inconclusive. But this month, Instagram partnered with the American Federation of Suicide Prevention to start a
#RealConvo about mental health. Nine influencers shared a look behind their filtered and curated lives and talked openly about their own struggles to encourage more people to share the not so glamorous parts of their lives.
Burger King introduces #FeelYourWay meals
No stranger to tackling social issues, Burger King’s introduced “
Real Meals” for all your moods because no one is happy all the time. The Real Meal moods include the Blue Meal, DGAF Meal, Salty Meal, Pissed Meal and YAAAS meal. The meal boxes promote resources and a screening test from Mental Health America. With a brand as big as Burger King talking about mental health, hopefully the conversation about mental health becomes more normalized.
Billie Eilish Seizes the Awkward
Young adults often turn to music for comfort when they feel as if no one can understand the struggles they’re going through. Because songs have an ability to express the feelings we might not have words for, musicians are in a unique position to crack open the conversation around mental health. That’s why our teen suicide prevention campaign, Seize the Awkward, teamed up with two of this year’s biggest musicians –
Billie Eilish and
Ava Max.
All these efforts have one goal in common and that’s to make it okay to talk about mental health issues. It may feel uncomfortable or awkward to start the conversation, but it’s always worth it. It can be as simple as saying to a friend, “Are you OK? You don’t seem like yourself lately.” For more tips on starting a conversation around mental health with a friend visit
seizetheawkward.org. It won’t be Mental Health Awareness Month soon, but it will always be a good time to reach out to a friend.
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How Instagram, Burger King and Billie Eilish are Supporting Mental Health Awareness Month appeared first on
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