Every year, falling on the 10th of October, is World Mental Health Day. It brings into focus, on a global level, the barriers to a more mentally healthy world such as social stigma and the protection of the rights of people suffering mental ill-health.
An initiative of the World Health Organisation (WHO), the 2023 theme for World Mental Health Day is “Mental health is a universal human right”.
The following excerpt from the World Mental Health Day website explains the reasoning behind the 2023 theme:
“Everyone, whoever and wherever they are, has a right to the highest attainable standard of mental health. This includes the right to be protected from mental health risks, the right to available, accessible, acceptable, and good quality care.
“Good mental health is vital to our overall health and well-being. Yet one-in-eight people globally are living with mental health conditions, which can impact their physical health, their well-being, how they connect with others, and their livelihoods.
“WHO continues to work with its partners to ensure mental health is valued, promoted, and protected, and that urgent action is taken so that everyone can exercise their human rights and access the quality mental health care they need.
Here in Australia, and in other countries that get behind this opportunity to talk about good mental health, World Mental Health Day provides a forum for talking about the growing challenges to mental health and wellbeing, and what needs to be done to make mental health care a reality for people worldwide.
At ADA Australia, we believe that an attitude change around mental health, and getting rid of the stigmas around ill-health is vital. After all, most of us will experience periods of ‘the blues’, of feeling down, at some stage in our lives. And it’s not healthy to bottle it up, to suffer in silence.
Our aim through our workplace mental health training is encourage people to feel comfortable with talking about things – like feelings, thoughts, worries – that we so often keep hidden. We recognise that friends, family and workmates can have a big influence in steering someone to help if we can ‘just talk about it, get a conversation going’.
It’s not hard; a simple question like, “How are you travelling, do you feel like having a chat over a coffee?” can be life-changing for that friend who needs a bit of support.
If you’d like to learn more about this program, or any of the other training programs we offer, please call ADA Australia on 1300 378 429 or email: enquiry@adaaus.com.au
And if you’d like to learn more about the World Mental Health Day 2023 campaign, please visit their website at: https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-mental-health-day/2023
Additionally, If this information raised any concerns for you, please do speak to your GP, they can help you back to good health, or call a helpline: LIFELINE 13 11 14 or BeyondBlue 1300 22 4636.