The month of October may be best known for Halloween, but there are also several great mental health awareness events during the month that you should know about. Here’s a quick rundown of these October awareness events, with links so you can learn more and get involved.
Established by the US Congress in recognition of efforts by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), this event occurs every year during the first full week of October. Programs are targeted to promote community outreach and public education concerning mental illnesses. This week also typically includes National Depression Screening Day.
This event, observed each year on October 10, was started by the World Federation for Mental Health for global mental health education, awareness and advocacy against social stigma, by bringing attention to mental illness and its major effects on peoples’ lives worldwide.
This annual event was developed to educate the public about ADHD (attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder) by disseminating reliable information based on the evidence of science and peer-reviewed research.
International OCD Awareness Week
Developed by the International OCD Foundation (IOCDF), this event, held during the second week in October, raises awareness and understanding about obsessive compulsive disorder and related disorders, with the goal of helping more people obtain timely access to appropriate and effective treatment.
Domestic Violence Awareness Month
Observed during the month of October since 1987, this campaign, supported by the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence, offers media materials and other resources to help raise awareness and to promote prevention and intervention strategies to reduce domestic violence.
National Bullying Prevention Month
Sponsored by PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center, this campaign unites communities around the world to educate and raise awareness about bullying prevention and to help kids be safe at school, while online, and in the community.
Please take a moment to learn more about these great events and support the ones that you are interested in. You can also check out my full calendar of all the mental health awareness events occurring throughout the entire year.
Here’s a question: Which mental health awareness events are of most interest to you? 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.