World Mental Health Day: Raising Awareness Of Mental Health Issues

First organised on October 10, 1992, World Mental Health Day creates awareness for people and communities to unite for the improvement of knowledge.

New Delhi: Observed on October 10, World Mental Health Day raises awareness of mental health issues around the world and mobilises efforts in support of mental health. It also provides an opportunity for all stakeholders working on mental health issues to talk about their work, and what more needs to be done to make mental health care a reality for people worldwide.

History & Significance

The World Mental Health Day was first organised on October 10, 1992, by the World Federation for Mental Health (WFMH). The WFMH is a global mental health organisation having a presence in over 150 countries. The initiative was proposed by Richard Hunter, Deputy Secretary General of the World Federation for Mental Health, in 1992.

World Mental Health Day is an opportunity for people and communities to unite for the improvement of knowledge, raise awareness and drive actions that promote and protect everyone's mental health as a universal human right.

Good mental health is vital to overall health and well-being. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 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. Mental health conditions are also affecting an increasing number of adolescents and young people.

What Is Mental Health

Mental health is a basic human right for all people. 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, and the right to liberty, independence and inclusion in the community.

WHO’s Take On Mental Health

According to WHO, having a mental health condition should never be a reason to deprive a person of their human rights or to exclude them from decisions about their own health. However, people with mental health conditions continue to experience a wide range of human rights violations. Many are excluded from community life and discriminated against, while many more cannot access the mental health care they need or can only access care that violates their human rights.

"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," the global health watchdog said.

Mental Health Status

According to WHO, an estimated 15 per cent of working-age adults have a mental disorder at any point in time. The size of the public health problem of mental health conditions is greater than the volume of investment to address it.

"This is the case despite international conventions calling for the protection of workers' physical and mental health through national policies in occupational safety and health," the WHO said.

Critical Issues Involving Mental Health

WHO said that poor mental health has a negative effect on a person's cognitive, behavioural, emotional, social and relational well-being and functioning, their physical health, and their personal identity and well-being as related to work. A person's capacity to participate in work can be consequently impaired through a reduction in productivity and performance, reduction in the ability to work safely, or difficulty in retaining or gaining work.

WHO Findings

An estimated 15 per cent of working-age adults have a mental disorder at any point in time. According to a study conducted by WHO in 2022, globally 301 million people were living with anxiety in 2019, as many as 280 million people were living with depression, 64 million people were living with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, and 703,000 people died by suicide each year.

Many of these individuals were of the working-age. The most prevalent mental health conditions (including common mental disorders such as depression and anxiety) are estimated to cost the global economy US$ 1 trillion each year, with the cost-driven predominantly by lost productivity.

People living with severe mental health conditions – including psychosocial disabilities (such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder) – are, for reasons such as stigma and discrimination, largely excluded from work despite the fact that participation in economic activities is important for recovery.