Every year, Mental Health Awareness Week gives us a moment to pause and reflect on something that sits at the heart of all of our lives—our mental health. It’s a time where conversations become louder, stories are shared more openly, and we’re reminded that mental wellbeing is something we all experience, not something that sits on the sidelines.
There is something deeply unsettling about the phrase “skinny is back”. It makes dangerous body ideals sound like a harmless fashion cycle, as though thinness is a trend that can drift in and out with hemlines and handbags. But for many people, especially teenagers and young adults, this is not style commentary. It is a trigger. It can stir up old fears, obsessive thoughts, shame around food, body checking, over-exercising, and the quiet but very real belief that smaller automatically means better.
International Women’s Day is often a moment of celebration — of progress, resilience, achievement, and the extraordinary contributions women make across society. But alongside celebration sits reflection. Reflection on the realities that still shape women’s experiences, opportunities, safety, confidence, and ultimately, their mental health.
February has a way of turning the volume up.
As we step into a new year, many of us find ourselves reflecting on our mental and emotional well-being. Maybe you’re feeling stressed, anxious, or overwhelmed. Maybe you’re grappling with a sense of being a bit lost, stuck in procrastination, or just not sure which direction to take next. It’s a time when a lot of us want to make positive changes, but the path forward can feel unclear. And reaching out for support, while so important, can sometimes feel like another challenge on top of everything else.
As we approach the end of 2025, artificial intelligence is increasingly shaping the landscape of mental health care. From AI-driven chatbots to virtual therapy avatars, AI is opening new doors—but it’s not without its complexities. In this blog, we’ll take a thorough, balanced look at the pros and cons of AI in mental health care, how it compares to human therapists, and what the future might hold—especially here at Melp.
We’re proud to officially share our partnership with Joma Sport, one of the world’s leading sports brands — and a brand whose values align seamlessly with the Melp Foundation’s mission to prioritise mental health in sport, schools, and communities.
Anxiety is one of those words that often makes us think of worry, stress, or even debilitating fear. But let’s take a moment to look at it through a slightly different lens. In this blog, we’re going to explore not just what anxiety is and how it can become challenging, but also the hidden positives of why we all experience anxiety—and how it might be a helpful messenger in our lives.
In a world that increasingly values mental well-being and emotional resilience, positivity has become a guiding principle — something we’re encouraged to adopt in our relationships, workplaces, parenting styles, and personal lives.
In today’s always‑connected world, technology has become woven into almost every aspect of our lives. Smartphones, tablets and laptops help us stay in touch with friends and family, access information within seconds, and work or study from virtually anywhere. For many of us, these devices feel like lifelines.
Mental health has long been overlooked in schools and grassroots sport. While the need is undeniable, the resources are often stretched to breaking point. At the Melp Foundation, we exist to change that. Our mission is simple but urgent: to support young people and women in sport by making mental health support accessible, affordable, and stigma-free—no matter your background, postcode or budget.
Sports are often celebrated, not just as a form of entertainment. But as a tool for empowerment, discipline and resilience. But for many girls, the path from secondary school athletics to adult women’s sports is riddled with difficult mental health hurdles. While a lot of attention is paid to skill, injury and prevention, the mental health challenges that accompany those experiences are often overlooked.
We’ve all been there—staring at a to-do list, unable to get started, feeling stuck and unmotivated. But is it just procrastination, or is it something deeper?
Managing stress at school can be a real challenge for students of all ages. With increasing workloads, looming deadlines and the pressure to succeed, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. But learning how to handle stress effectively is essential for both your mental wellbeing and academic success. In this post, we’ll explore practical tips and techniques that can help you navigate the pressures of school life, from breaking down tasks into manageable steps to practising mindfulness and positive thinking. By developing healthy coping strategies, you can reduce stress, stay focused and feel more in control of your workload.
Everyone can feel lonely at times. It can happen to absolutely anyone, no matter what age, gender, race, sexuality or anything else. It’s a tough thing to handle, but it doesn’t mean that anything is wrong with you. Humans all want to feel connected to one another.
Let me ask you a question. When was the last time you failed at something?
Oh yes, it’s that time of year again.
As the nights draw in and the days on the calendar hurtle towards December, most of us are starting to plan. Making lists, sorting meals, buying gifts – it’s all part of the fun festivities. But for many, there's another plan that needs to be made - how to manage the grief of a lost loved one. Since Christmas is a time for family gatherings, it can bring up a lot of complex feelings and grief for those who are no longer with us, even if we lost them some time ago. Grief like this is a totally normal part of life, which is why it's important to embrace it, rather than repress it. To try and make this festive season a little easier, we wanted to share some tips around how to make space for grief at Christmas, and make it a positive part of the celebrations.
You would be forgiven for thinking that there’s been a huge spate of overdiagnosis when it comes to ADHD. The news is talking about the fact that more people than ever before are being diagnosed with ADHD, and that many systems simply aren’t built to accommodate neurodiverse people effectively. A new story is in the media every few days, and you probably know at least one person who has been diagnosed with ADHD later in life.
National Inclusion week is one of those new annual celebrations, sitting right alongside national careers week and neurodiversity celebration week. The aim is to highlight the importance of inclusion across the UK, particularly in the workplace. This year it falls on the 23rd to the 29th of September, and you probably saw loads of employers doing activities and showcasing how inclusive their workplace is. Which is all great stuff! But this month what we want to really highlight is why inclusion matters, and the negative effects not being included can have on an employee’s mental health.
Every human on the planet has hormones. They’re an important part of our body’s communication mechanism, and they keep a lot of important processes running. Growth, repair and rejuvenation, cell regulation and reproduction – all of them are controlled by hormones. Typically, your body knows how much of which hormones to produce and when so that everything can work smoothly. But sometimes that doesn’t happen. A hormone is missing, present in too high or too low levels, or just appearing at the wrong times, and this can cause all sorts of problems. This is called hormone imbalance.
When it comes to our mental health, we know there are dozens of things that can have an impact. Environment, diet, circumstance, social support, stress and trauma are all things that can cause your mental health to decline. But there’s one thing that has much more of an impact than we think - hormones. Particularly in women, who experience more hormonal fluctuations every month, and whose hormones will change as they age. But why do hormones play such a big part in women’s mental health, and is there anything we can do to tame them?
For a long time the term ‘bipolar’ was used as somewhat of a joke. A way to brush off someone whose mood had changed quickly, or who tended to easily go from being happy to angry. Thankfully over the last few years there has been more awareness of bipolar disorder, and the problems people suffering with it face on a daily basis. If you think you or someone you know might be struggling with bipolar disorder, then this guide to the basics of the condition might be helpful.
Eating disorders are on the rise. It might not seem like it, but between 1.25 and 3.4 million people in the UK alone are affected by an eating disorder. Most eating disorders develop during the teen years, but they can start as early as 6 or as late as 70 or even 80. And surprisingly, eating disorders have the highest mortality rates among psychiatric disorders – above depression, anxiety and even schizophrenia.
