The World Health Organisation recognises World Mental Health Day on 10th October every year. The theme of 2022's World Mental Health Day, set by the World Federation for Mental Health, is 'Make Mental Health and Wellbeing For All a Global Priority'.
Many organisations have been working hard to make sure that mental health is treated on a par with physical health. Mental health problems exist in our lives, families, workplaces and communities, impacting everyone.
It is important to do as much as possible to prevent mental ill-health as individuals and as a society. National and local government should prioritise reducing the factors known to pose a risk to people’s mental health, enhancing those known to protect it and creating the conditions needed for people to have mental health wellness.
World Mental Health Day is also a chance to talk about mental health in general, how we need to look after it, and how important it is to talk about things and get help if struggling, particularly for children and young people.
Good mental health begins in infancy, but:
20% of adolescents may experience a mental health problem in any given year.
50% of mental health problems are established by age 14 and 75% by age 24.
10% of children and young people (aged 5-16 years) have a clinically diagnosable mental health problem, yet ...
70% of children and adolescents who experience mental health problems have not had appropriate interventions at a sufficiently early age.
We all have 'mental health', just as we all have 'physical health'. Just like our physical health, we can all have times when our mental health is better than others. Prevention is better than cure, so people need to look after their mental health and prevent more serious mental health problems from developing. There are things that can help us all live mentally healthy lives. We can:
Learn to understand and manage our feelings
Talk kindly to ourselves
Talk to someone we trust for support
Avoid 'self medicating' with food, alcohol or drugs
Get more from our sleep
Keep healthy and eat healthily
Be curious and open-minded to new experiences
Plan things to look forward to
Get accurate and useful information
Since 1949,the Mental Health Foundation has been the UK’s leading charity for everyone’s mental health. Their vision is for a world with good mental health for all. With prevention at the heart of what they do, they aim to find and address the sources of mental health problems so that people and communities can thrive.
They drive change towards a mentally healthy society for all, and support communities, families and individuals to live mentally healthier lives, with a particular focus on those at greatest risk.
They take a public mental health approach to prevention, finding solutions for individuals, those at risk and for society, in order to improve everyone’s mental wellbeing.
The Mental Health Foundation is a charity specialising in research and policy development, with a focus on preventing mental health problems. What else we can do for Mental Health Day:
You can order a green ribbon:
Download posters and social graphics:
Take part in events and fundraising:
Make a donation to the Mental Health Foundation
Get help for yourself or someone else's mental health needs
Find out more about mental health conditions:
Information provided by Mental Health Foundation | Good mental health for all
Comments