Mental Health Awareness Week 2025- Top Up Together

This year’s Mental Health Awareness Week (6–12 October 2025) is all about connection. The theme “Top Up Together” reminds us that just like our phones, cars, or coffee cups, our wellbeing batteries also need recharging, and the best way to do that is often with others by our side.

Why connection matters

When life feels heavy, it can be easy to retreat into ourselves. Anxiety and depression often whisper that we’re alone, but the truth is, connection is one of the most powerful tools we have for healing and resilience. Spending time with friends, whānau, neighbours, or colleagues can:

• Reduce feelings of isolation and loneliness

• Bring moments of laughter and joy

• Help us share burdens and challenges

• Spark hope when things feel uncertain

Even the smallest interaction, a smile, a chat over coffee, or checking in with someone, can top up your wellbeing and theirs too.

Finding hope together

Hope is like a torch in the dark; it doesn’t make challenges disappear, but it lights the way forward. Building hope doesn’t always happen alone, often it’s found through shared experiences. Hope grows when we:

• Talk openly about how we’re feeling

• Celebrate small wins together, no matter how minor they seem

• Create safe spaces for kindness, empathy, and encouragement

• Join in community activities that bring us closer to others

Simple ways to Top Up Together this week

• Go for a walk, run, or ride with a friend

• Share a kai (meal) with whānau or neighbours

• Write a message of encouragement to someone who might need it

• Attend local community events supporting Mental Health Awareness Week

• Take time to listen, really listen, when someone opens up

Let’s keep filling each other’s cups

Mental Health Awareness Week is more than just seven days, it’s a reminder to keep looking out for each other all year round. Together we can create a culture where reaching out, connecting, and bringing hope into everyday life is the norm.

So, this week, ask yourself: Who can I connect with today to top up my wellbeing – and theirs too?

Kia kaha, kia māia, kia manawanui – stay strong, be brave, keep the faith. 💙