When is Mental Health Day?
Mental Health Day is a mental health event held on the 10th of October every year. The day is recognised at an international level by the World Health Organisation, an international organisation working to improve global health along with other mental health organisations.
The purpose of the day is to raise awareness of issues, to help educate the public about challenges and what they can to build resilience and support each other. One of the main focuses is to breakdown the social stigma around mental health and to make it a subject that people feel much more comfortable discussing.
All over the world, mental health organisations use the day to draw attention to mental health issues that affect the people they support and the causes that they champion. It’s an international day of outreach for awareness and to educate the community on what living with a mental health problem is like and how they can support the people who do.
World Mental Health Day isn’t simply a one-day event. We need to start now and continue our call to ensure that no-one is left behind.
Dr Ingrid Daniels, President: World Federation for Mental Health
Each year, there is a theme assigned by the World Federation for Mental Health to help raise awareness of a specific area of mental health or to draw attention to particular mental health or mental well-being areas.
Recent Themes
- 2020: Mental Health for All
- 2019: Suicide Prevention
- 2018: Young People
- 2017: Mental Health in the Workplace
- 2016: Psychological First Aid
- 2015: Dignity in Mental Health
Where it all began
Mental Health Day was originally started on the 10th of October 1992 by the World Federation for Mental Health and has grown in awareness and popularity as a celebration and education date ever since.
“The world is accepting the concept of universal health coverage. Mental health must be an integral part of UHC. Nobody should be denied access to mental health care because she or he is poor or lives in a remote place.”
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organisation
This article was last updated: 7 November 2020