October 10th is recognised by the World Health Organisation as World Mental Health Day. Awareness of the struggles that people face when it comes to their mental health is the start of the solution to the problem in tackling the stigma that is attached to mental health.
Established in 1992, by the World Federation for Mental Health, each year has a set theme, this year’s is ‘Mental Health in an Unequal World’.
Being mentally healthy doesn’t mean that you don’t have a mental health problem, in good mental health you can; make the most of your potential, cope with life and play a full part in your family, workplace, community and among friends. It is important to remember that mental health is as important as physical health, and World Mental Health day seeks to create more awareness around this.
Mental health is different for everyone and a circumstance change that could impact one person greatly may be easy for another to bounce back from. Mental health is in a constant changing state throughout our lifetimes and it is healthy to be able to talk about it, more importantly to remove the stigma that is attached to talking about mental health.
This year’s theme of mental health in an unequal world was chosen by the World Federation for Mental Health and seeks to highlight that access to mental health services remains unequal. The stigma that is attached to mental health and the access to support can affect a person’s mental and physical health as well as their educational opportunities, earning and job prospects, and their friend and family life. This is why it is so important to recognise World Mental Health Day both as a business and an individual to work to remove the stigma and help everyone. COVID-19 had a particular impact on our mental health as a world, highlighting even more so the need to remove the stigma.
If you or anyone you know are struggling with mental health there’s lots of amazing resources out there for support. www.mentalhealth.org.uk has their top ten tips to look after your mental health and the as does the charity Mind.
This year we are joining them to #DoOneThing for Mental Health awareness.