World Mental Health Day 2019

Today, Thursday October 10th is World Mental Health Day. This day is a day to raise awareness and make even more effort to remove the social stigma that surrounds mental illness. Each year the day has a theme, last year the theme was ‘young people and mental health in a changing world’, this year the theme is Suicide Prevention. According to the health body, someone in the world loses their life to suicide every 40 seconds which is a very troubling statistic. Suicide is a tragedy, it’s the leading cause of death among young people aged 20-34 in the UK and the second leading cause of death among 15-29-year-olds globally. Suicide leaves a devastating effect on families, friends and everyone else who is left behind. 

The more we talk about mental health issues the better. The Mental Health Foundation released a short guide on suicide prevention, asking the question or starting a conversation could actually save someone’s life and it’s something we can all do! This easy to remember the advice on how to support someone who may be suicidal, WAIT! 

Working can help look after your mental health as it gives us a source of income, it allows us to socialise and develop our sense of identity, it also helps to keep our minds busy and challenge them daily. Sometimes, however, work can hurt our mental health. Workplace stress is often a culprit of this along with poor colleague relationships. More than 21% of people asked agreed that they have called in sick to avoid work because of workplace stress and 42% had considered resigning. Mind released a helpful guide on ‘how to be mentally healthy at work’ which provides tips and advice on how to manage mental health in the workplace and how to ask for the support you might need from your employer. 

It’s really important to share the message that it’s okay to not feel okay, or anxious, or out of sorts, or sad, or tired, or happy! No one is alone even though it may seem that way at times, opening up can seem so daunting and even overwhelming talking to someone else can really help and allow yourself to get out of your head. It all starts with a conversation remember!