Mental health; it’s a term that we are hearing more of in our everyday lives, and rightfully so! At Mud, we strongly advocate prioritising your mental health. Our Mud community is one that we care for so much and we don’t want to shy away from these conversations because we believe that looking after our mental health is equally important as looking after our physical health. This October 10th is World Mental Health Day and the theme of this year is “mental health in an unequal world”. More than ever we are aware of the challenges that people face with their mental health and how this can be further exacerbated by various kinds of inequality. 

Our work at Mud aims to promote a sense of positivity, generosity and self care. We know that we all go through seasons in life where we face difficulties with our emotional wellbeing, and that stigma around mental illness can mean that being open and having these discussions are difficult. Studies consistently show that having flowers in your environment leads to a positive psychological effect and can reduce stress. Primarily, our services at Mud are here for you if you need to treat yourself, cheer up a friend or even just a simple reminder: I’m thinking of you. We love how our flowers can deliver moments of joy, and that our Mud Goods can remind you to take the time out for yourself. However, beyond our work, we understand the importance of giving back philanthropically and directly raising awareness of issues that we may face on a daily basis. 

For this year’s World Mental Health Day, we are supporting the UK’s leading charity, the Mental Health Foundation. The foundation engages in community programmes, provides advice, advocates and researches on bettering people’s mental health all over the UK. The Mental Health Foundation believes that prevention is fundamental to addressing the mental health crisis. They highlighted in a report that the risk and impact of mental health problems is greater for those who experience inequality, and are currently running projects to support those adversely affected across the UK. Sadly access to services for your mental health can differ due to factors like race, gender or wealth. However, by raising awareness of these inequalities and how they are interrelated, we can help progress towards long lasting change.

To help with vital work for better, equal access to mental health services for all, we have released a mini dried bouquet for World Mental Health Day here. We will donate £10 from each bouquet to the Mental Health Foundation. We have designed a beautiful rustic, earthy bouquet featuring gentle eucalyptus, miscanthus, wheat with soft shades of green and neutral. We love the relaxing and soothing feelings that this bouquet evokes. The green ribbon is the international symbol for mental health awareness, which is what we’ve incorporated into this unique charitable bouquet. 

At Mud, we truly value taking care of your mental health. We want to grow in a positive direction where we are able to encourage each other to look after ourselves first before we can look after each other. Only when we are healthy and well can we reach our full potential and be a better friend, family member and participant in our community. Mental health issues can come in all different forms, and it can be intimidating to talk about but these challenges can help to be resolved by initiating these conversations and continuing to talk about it. When we work together to combat these inequalities we can empower each other as a society to change for the better and let ourselves thrive.