[Tuesday, 10 October 2023] location: global
On October 10, the world commemorates World Mental Health Day. It is a global observance with the goal of promoting, educating, and raising awareness about mental health, getting people talking about it, and eradicating the stigma that frequently surrounds mental health.
Why is World Mental Health Day celebrated?
The idea of World Mental Health Day dates back to 1992. Mental health is extremely essential and affects each and every one of us. The stigma associated with mental health, such as labelling individuals who have been diagnosed or pushing for suppressing or not talking about it, has decreased in recent years; nonetheless, there is still a long way to go in acknowledging the significance of mental health and well-being in society.
For decades, the World Federation for Mental Health (WFMH) has established a different theme each year, which is recognised by the World Health Organization (WHO), to address and raise awareness of a certain problem. Recent years’ themes have included:
- WFMH’s 2018 topic was “Young people and mental health in a changing world.”
- The subject of World Mental Health Day 2019 was “Focus on Suicide Prevention,” with the goal of increasing awareness and intervention, as well as lowering the incidence of suicides caused by mental diseases such as depression.
- In 2020, the subject was “Move for Mental Health: Let’s Invest,” to emphasise the significance of increasing financial help on a global scale to support mental well-being.
- The subject for 2021 is “Mental Health in an Unequal World,” which addresses the issue of available mental health treatments and the unequal balance of access to such services between rich and poor communities.