World Mental Health Day - 10 October.

Annually, World Mental Health Day on October 10th raises awareness and mobilizes efforts to support mental health.

When one has poor mental health, they are more likely to suffer from a mental health disorder. These disorders include the following diagnoses:

• Depression
• Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
• Panic disorder
• Phobias
• Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD)
• Obsessive-compulsive Disorder (OCD)
• Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Of these mental health disorders, most people experience anxiety disorders. Statistics show that about 4% of the world’s population has a form of anxiety disorder.

The World Federation for Mental Health first observed World Mental Health Day in 1992 with members and contacts in many countries.  While the federations first used a theme in 1994, previous years did not. The first theme was “Improving the Quality of Mental Health Services throughout the World.” Twenty-seven countries participated in that campaign.

In 1995, the World Federation for Mental Health translated planning kits for World Mental Health Day into various languages. These languages included Spanish and French. Today, planning kits are translated into Hindi, Chinese, Arabic, and other languages, too.

WHO will work with partners to launch a campaign around the theme of Making Mental Health & Well-Being for All a Global Priority. This will be an opportunity for people with mental health conditions, advocates, governments, employers, employees and other stakeholders to come together to recognize progress in this field and to be vocal about what we need to do to ensure Mental Health & Well-Being becomes a Global Priority for all.

Source: www.who.int

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