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Talking #MentalHealthAwareness on Twitter with our global partners

By
Monday, 15 June 2020

The open nature of Twitter can spark conversations among people facing similar struggles worldwide. As we experience the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, talking openly about our mental health concerns can build empathy and respect. 

Throughout the month of May, we worked with over 60 of our mental health partners around the world to raise awareness and help break the stigma associated with mental health.

Utilizing the hashtags #LetsTalk and #TogetherWeCan, our partners inspired a series of honest, global mental health conversations around the anxiety and stress that we — our families, peers, educators, students, and vulnerable groups — are experiencing together. 

The hashtags and bespoke emoji was translated into over 30 languages and activated in over 30 different countries during the month of May.

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We saw countless creative uses of Twitter for #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek and #MentalHealthAwarenessMonth including live Twitter Q+As with mental health organizations, people sharing mental health tips and resources and people opening up about their individual mental health concerns. 

Through these trusted partnerships, we encouraged people to see Twitter as a place to talk about their mental health — sharing their experiences and helping others understand how different cultures and communities respond to these challenges. 

Bringing the conversation together 

Our mental health emoji and hashtags were utilized throughout the month of May to integrate and amplify the global conversation. They were shared almost 170,000 times on the service — promoting access to mental health resources from over 70 global mental health organizations.

The hashtags #MentalHealth; #MentalHealthMonth; #LetsTalk and #TogetherWeCan combined to reach over half a million uses throughout the month, bringing the global conversation together to raise awareness and normalize discussion around mental health.

Along with these important and real on-service mental health conversations with our partners and the bespoke emoji launches across the world, we donated Ads for Good grants for mental health partners to amplify their messages and campaigns over the month of May. 

APAC

On May 4th, our partners Samaritans of Thailand (@Samaritans_Thai) launched an Ask Me Anything on-service Q+A, where people on Twitter had the opportunity to ask questions about their mental health stresses and have them answered and supported by @Samaritans_Thai experts. The Q+A was brought together on the service using the hashtag #AskSamaritansTH and the bespoke mental health hashtags #UsapTayo and #คุยกันได้ทุกเรื่อง — all amplified through Twitter’s @NonProfits account to further promote the insights and resources published throughout the on-service Q+A. 

Key themes discussed throughout included how to deal with feelings of guilt, how to manage social anxieties, and where to go to for support: 

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North America

On May 5th, our Mental Health America partners took to Twitter to answer frequently asked questions related to COVID-19 mental health challenges and ways to cope - bringing the conversation together on the service through the hashtags #LetsTalk and #TogetherWeCan. This activation was amplified live via a thread through Twitter’s @NonProfits account. 

This thread shows the many resources and support available for people who are feeling anxious and unnerved through stressful times in their lives. This conversation on Twitter also breaks down stigmas associated with speaking about mental health areas like mindfulness and meditation, mental health tools, finding gratitude and joy in daily routines, as well as where to find credible information regarding COVID-19.

On May 7th — Child Youth & Mental Health Day — our partners in Canada @KidsHelpPhone promoted their key resources on how to support young people throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. 

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LATAM

Our partner Centro de Valorização da Vida (@CVVoficial) shared mental health resources and encouraged people on Twitter to have honest conversations about the mental health stresses caused by the global pandemic. Using the hashtags #JuntosPodemos and #VamosConversar they invited people to connect with their services and break the stigma around mental health. Their tweets were amplified through Twitter’s @NonProfits account.

Our partner in Colombia, @MutanteOrg also shared some key mental health resources and encouraged people to engage in open conversations about their mental health.  With the hashtag #HablemosDeSaludMental, @MutanteOrg also invited psychologists to engage in and promote deep thinking around the importance of good mental health.

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EMEA

Our partner Mental Health Europe (@MHESME) launched their on-service Q+A on the 6th of May, and this @MHESME thread was also amplified via Twitter @NonProfits.Topics discussed included: utilizing social media in positive ways, supporting healthcare workers, being there for family and friends during COVID-19, and managing mental health triggers:

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Resources

Mental health awareness and treatment is a critical global issue, and it’s important to capture tools that we can turn to over time. Via our Twitter @NonProfits account, we developed a Twitter List of our mental health partner profiles and resources for people to access as needed on the service. 

Through our @Policy account, we created a #LetsTalk Moment to showcase the reach and engagement that on-service conversations can enable through global partners, which inspire us to express our real and unique challenges and address mental health together.

WHO

As #MentalHealthAwareness month came to a close, the WHO answered some frequently asked questions and shared toolkits through their @WHO Twitter profile to address the stresses and anxieties that people continue to face through the COVID-19 pandemic. We amplified this important resource via our @Policy handle. 

Some key areas of focus in this FAQ conversation were: techniques in managing stress, how to manage the stress associated with seeing constant COVID-19 media reports, and advice for parents and children who are spending much more time at home due to the pandemic.

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By sparking conversations with local organizations and showcasing innovative ways partners utilize the service, our goal was to provide an interconnected space to raise diverse perspectives and resources to confront the mental health effects of COVID-19. We continue to work in collaboration with our mental health partners around the world, in keeping the #MentalHeath conversation alive and engaged on Twitter. 

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