Pinterest and World Mental Health Day: Introducing Havens, search trends, community giving and more

October 7, 2021

At Pinterest, we’re on a mission to help people create a life they love —a mission that is perhaps most important when life presents unexpected challenges to wellbeing. According to the World Health Organization, one in four people will be affected by mental health issues in their lifetime, and more than 300 million people today suffer from depression.

In honor of World Mental Health Day, we’re sharing the latest ways people are turning to Pinterest as a positive corner of the internet, as well as news on community giving, and launching Havens, an online and offline space for community-driven inspiration.

Our goal of advancing inspiration guides how we show up in our communities, how we think about our societal obligations, how we contribute our time and resources, and how we tackle barriers that prevent positivity or introduce toxicity. We’re creating space—on our platform and in the world—for reflection on how mental health can impact us all globally.

Wellbeing on Pinterest

People come to Pinterest to discover ideas, get inspired and focus on themselves and their futures. We’re seeing Pinners coming to Pinterest for inspiration around increased emotional wellbeing and overall wellness, including new ways to stay positive and take care of themselves. Over the past year, we’ve seen an increase in searches for the following self-care inspiration:

Sunday reset routine¹ (7x)
Destressing tips²(12.7x)
Optimism tattoo²(3x)
Self care quotes mental health² (4x)
Resting quotes²(3.6x)

Introducing Havens: Invest in Rest

We’re excited to launch our anti-burnout oasis, Havens: Invest in Rest, an online and offline destination exploring the relationship between mental health and rest. Inspired by the Pinterest Predicts trend “invest in rest,” the Haven will include a collection of relaxing imagery and Idea Pins about rest from Pinterest Creators. Employees from Pinside Out, Pinterest’s internal mental health community, also co-curated content in the Haven. From stunning waterfalls, to gratitude journal prompts to bedtime affirmations, Havens is designed to help you reboot and recharge.

Taking action on ideas from Pinterest and bringing them into the real world is part of Pinterest’s mission. That’s why Pinterest is also commissioning its first in real life installation titled Havens: Invest in Rest. Located within Boxville on Chicago’s South Side, Havens: Invest in Rest, is a site-specific installation curated by local artist Dwight White dedicated to bringing the anti-burnout oasis to life through real-life Pins, immersive art and community programming.

The idea of radical rest is a conversation that is important to have in my community as we understand boundaries and self care. As young black professionals & entrepreneurs, one of the greatest challenges we face is putting our health before fulfilling the next request, project or commission. I was thrilled to curate an experience that encourages us to take a break, bringing this important theme of resting to life through my art for World Mental Health Day.

Dwight White, Chicago Artist and Curator

On view starting October 9th, Havens: Invest in Rest includes an expansive mural, painted by White and an installation brought to life by designer, Christyna Conway and fabricator, Jai Bradford. The installation works in tandem with the Havens community board to encourage viewers to take a breath and consider how to intentionally nourish their wellbeing.

Community giving

To support the Havens activation in Chicago, Pinterest is donating $80,000 to three local, community-led organizations — Boundless Early Education, Urban Juncture Foundation and Coffee, Hip Hop & Mental Health — from the Pinterest Charitable Fund, the Company’s donor-advised fund administered by a donor-advised fund program. In addition, earlier this year Pinterest committed $10 million over 12 months to fund organizations that are increasing awareness of mental health and wellbeing challenges, advancing innovations in the field, and explicitly tackling racial and other disparities in access. As part of this commitment to emotional wellbeing, Pinterest will recommend over $1 million dollars in grants to national organizations focused on emotional wellbeing services and resources for underrepresented and marginalized groups. Those partners include:

Pinterest’s social impact thesis is that emotional wellbeing and mental health are vital components of living a life you love. On World Mental Health Day, we’ve chosen to focus on historically underrepresented and underserved communities — and organizations doing groundbreaking work supporting them at multiple levels. That ranges from deep place-based work in communities like Chicago and New York, to programs and advocacy efforts that are making a dramatic impact on mental health access and outcomes across the country.

Ari Simon, Responsabile impatto sociale e attività filantropiche

More ways to find wellbeing on Pinterest

Compassionate Search continues to serve as a way to find helpful resources and activities if they’re feeling stressed, anxious or sad, when searching for terms related to emotional wellbeing. Brazil and Germany are the latest countries to have this feature, joining the U.S., UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia, Singapore, India, the Philippines, Hong Kong and New Zealand. These guided activities were created with the help of emotional health experts at Brainstorm, the Stanford Lab for Mental Health Innovation, and with advice from Vibrant Emotional Health and the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

And, visit the “daily inspiration” space of the search tab to find how Pinterest Creators are investing in rest, and how emotional wellbeing can look different to everyone. Journaling, meditating, walking, dancing, drawing and more, are all activities that can support our emotional wellbeing and mental health.

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