world mental health day: making emotional well-being a top priority
Today, October 10th, is celebrated as World Mental Health Day, an international day for global mental health education, awareness and advocacy against social stigma. This day, each year, thousands of people come together to celebrate this annual awareness program to bring attention to mental illness and its major effects on peoples’ lives worldwide.
According to WHO, the chief aim of World Mental Health Day is “to raise awareness of mental health issues around the world and to mobilize efforts in support of mental health.”
Unfortunately, there’s a stigma attached to mental health issues. This means that people feel uncomfortable and don’t talk about them much. Many people don’t even feel comfortable talking about their feelings to a close friend or a trusted person. But it’s healthy to know and say how you’re feeling. To become open and vulnerable and express yourself. And if things get out of hand, you should feel no shame or guilt for seeking out professional help. In fact, it’s one of the best things you can do for yourself.
Rather than forming toxic judgments against yourself and your current situation, you must learn to develop love, kindness and compassion for yourself. Self-love, self-care and healing is the way to go.
When it comes to dealing with mental issues, like all other ailments, the age-old adage ‘Prevention is better than cure,’ applies here too.
As per the Mental Health Foundation (UK), being mentally healthy doesn’t just mean that you don’t have a mental health problem. If you’re in good mental health, you can:
- make the most of your potential
- cope with life
- play a full part in your family, workplace, community and among friends.
It’s wise to assess our mental health from time to time in our fast-paced modern lives. Keep in mind that mental health and emotional well-being are just as important as physical health. And the truth is that mental and emotional health is never static.
Let’s be honest for a few seconds. We all have times when we feel anxious, stressed, overwhelmed, sad, rejected, offended or frightened. Most of the time those feelings pass. But sometimes they develop into a more serious problem, and no one is immune to this. It can happen to you, it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone. And we all approach a setback or adversity in our own unique and different ways. Sometimes, we bounce back easily and sometimes, it takes a long time to figure out effective solutions. This is why opening ourselves up and sharing our worries, fears and concerns with people whom we deeply trust can be a great step to safeguard our mental health and holistic well-being.
Here’s the bottom line: All of us will go through difficult and challenging circumstances at some point in our lives as we encounter changes, big and small, and move through different stages of life. So, paying attention to our mental well-being and taking good care of ourselves when the going gets tough, and seeking help if needed, is of paramount importance.
