Each year, World Mental Health Day is observed on October 10th. Here are 7 important facts about this very special day which may not be commonly known.
1) The goal
The goal of World Mental Health Day is to “celebrate awareness for the global community in an empathetic way, with a unifying voice, helping those feel hopeful by empowering them to take action and to create lasting change.”
2) The history
World Mental Health Day was developed by the World Federation for Mental Health and first observed on October 10, 1992. Since 1994, a different focus or theme has been chosen each year. Some of the past themes have focused on mental health issues related to women, children, suicide, older adults, the workplace, and culture.
3) International reach
Information on World Mental Health Day was first translated from English into Spanish in 1995. Since then, the material has also been made available in French, Hindi, Russian, Japanese, Chinese, and Arabic. World Mental Health Day has been celebrated in more than 100 countries.
4) The 2019 theme
For 2019, the theme for World Mental Health Day is on suicide prevention. Recognizing that over 800,00 people die worldwide by suicide each year, the 2019 theme offers information and resources to help reduce and prevent suicides.
5) The toolkit
Each year, the WFMH provides tools, tips and resources for World Mental Health Day. The 2019 toolkit contains information on suicide prevention, links to related websites, ideas for raising awareness in your community, and a media kit containing banners, flyers, press releases, social media marketing tools, logos and more.
6) The video
The World Mental Health Day website includes this great 87-second video on the importance of advocating for mental health and ways to get started.
7) Suicide prevention information
Another great resource is this packet of information called “Mental Health Promotion and Suicide Prevention,” which includes detailed articles on suicide, its impact and various strategies for prevention.
Please check out all of these wonderful resources. Get involved in your own community by sharing information, organizing mental health awareness events, and by speaking up to promote better access to effective treatment. Through such efforts, any day of the year can be a “mental health day,” not just the 10th of October.
Here’s a question: What can you do to help promote mental health throughout the year? Please leave a comment. Also, please subscribe to my blog and feel free to follow me on X (formerly Twitter) or Instagram, “like” my Facebook page, or connect on LinkedIn. Finally, if you enjoyed this post, please share it with a friend.