Many people experience difficulties with their physical, mental, and emotional well-being in addition to their mental health. Thankfully, October 10th is World Mental Health Day, which aims to raise awareness of mental health issues and lessen the stigma associated with mental health disorders. You can honor and celebrate the day through your actions, advocacy, and methods whether or not you personally deal with mental health issues.
Importance of Mental Health
World Mental Health Day: What is it? Based on initiatives by the World Federation for Mental Health, it started in 1992. Their 150-country membership aims to raise awareness of mental health issues and their effects worldwide.
Regretfully, there is a serious need for mental health advocacy and awareness. In fact, a Monster survey found that 63% of respondents rated their mental health as fair (28%), or poor (35%).
In addition, according to a 5,000-person Muse survey, 44%–38% of respondents claimed to be overworked or burned out. Individuals said they were devoid of happiness and felt unappreciated; 47% of them claimed that stress was the primary cause of their bad experiences.
According to a Stress in America poll, 62% of women and 51% of men ages 18 to 34 reported feeling totally overwhelmed by stress, demonstrating how serious and real the stress is for many groups. Furthermore, a Cigna survey found that 91% of Gen Z felt stressed and 98% felt burned out.
Celebrate By Sharing
What are some ways to honor or commemorate World Mental Health Day? In the beginning, one strategy is to prioritize visibility. To highlight and reaffirm the significance of mental health, share, like, and tell your own story of mental wellness.
Celebrate By Connecting
Honor the day by making sure those you care about know how you’re doing. One of the most important components of all types of wellbeing is connection. A sense of belonging and interpersonal connections are beneficial to one’s mental, emotional, and physical well-being.
So give a friend a text message or an email. Give a loved one a call. Pay a visit to a neighbor. Help someone you know who is experiencing mental health issues feel heard.
If they’re not, show them friendship and compassion; by doing so, you will be actively promoting each other’s well-being.
Celebrate By Getting Involved
Learning more about mental health is one way you can observe the day. Find out more about the variables that affect mental health and how common it is. Look into local organizations that promote mental health and find out how you can volunteer to help promote mental health in your community.
Interestingly, a Solient assessment found that the states with the best mental health conditions were Vermont, Colorado, North Dakota, Minnesota, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Nebraska, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Utah.
Based on data on the quantity of mental health days, employment, access to mental health care, exercise, violent crime rate, safety, air quality, and connected youth, the analysis is conducted.
Find out about the particular circumstances that either enhance or diminish mental health in your community, and take action to make improvements where you can.
Celebrate By Influencing Your Employer
When it comes to mental health, organizations can also have an impact. Affinity groups, events, posting on corporate websites, and encouraging people to share their stories are all examples of actions that can positively impact mental health.
Work plays a significant role in life and can lead to fulfillment and self-worth. Employers can address the larger picture of wellbeing by giving all jobs a stronger sense of purpose, offering chances for growth and learning, and, to the greatest extent feasible, matching employees with activities they enjoy. Each of these adds to one’s overall well-being.
Celebrate By Taking Action
It’s critical to understand that although life can be difficult at times, worthwhile endeavors such as meaningful work, fulfilling relationships, and significant impact require work. Although life won’t always be easy, you can learn to be resilient by reminding yourself of your strengths, your priorities, and your support system.
In honor of World Mental Health Day, look for opportunities to learn new things, take on constructive challenges, and step outside of your comfort zone. Happiness comes from experiencing new things, pushing yourself to the limit, and learning valuable lessons from difficult experiences as well as from spending lovely, carefree time with loved ones.
Owning your actions and enabling yourself to shape the future to the greatest extent possible is agency. Thomas Bateman’s research on agency demonstrates that agency is the product of planning, self-control, learning, and adaptation.
In addition to reflecting, rethinking, and making necessary adjustments, Bateman suggests that you can improve both your mental health and your agency by planning ahead, setting goals, and acting while also taking care of yourself and managing your emotions and stress.
Receiving assistance when necessary is an important aspect of mental health, as is expanding, learning, changing, and strengthening your capacity to handle a wide range of obstacles that life presents.
Celebrate and Honor
The idea of “celebrating” World Mental Health Day might seem a little odd. In reality, what’s really important is to recognize the value of mental health, to support and honor those who experience difficulties, and to respect the procedures that go into setting up the framework for a community that values mental health and actively promotes the health and welfare of its members.
