Mental Health and Wellbeing

Mental wellbeing has many definitions, but the definition adopted by Hapus, the national conversation for wellbeing is: ‘feeling good and functioning well’.

It is possible to have a mental health condition and also have either high or low mental wellbeing. See figure below.

Source: Hapus

Despite individual, community and organisational efforts, mental wellbeing in Wales has decreased since the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, National Survey for Wales results show that pre-pandemic levels as measured by the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS) were 51.4 (2018/19), and the results for 2022/23 were 48.2 for Wales. Even more up-to-date results for 2024/25 show that the score increased to just 48.4 for Wales (1).[1]

According to Hapus, there are eight evidence-based ways to wellbeing, see below:

More information on how to support someone to increase their wellbeing, can be found on the Hapus website: Wellbeing tools - Hapus.

Since November 2024, Cardiff and Vale UHB has been a Hapus Supporter Organisation.

At the other end of the spectrum, much work has been undertaken to prevent suicide and support people who self-harm, in Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan. More information on our current Suicide Prevention and Self-harm Strategic Plan can be found here.

If you or someone else has been affected by these issues, please see here for help.

[1] Welsh Government (2025), National Survey for Wales: results viewer dashboard, National Survey for Wales: results viewer dashboard | GOV.WALES [accessed 17/03/2026].