To prepare for this year’s World Mental Health Day on Oct. 10, the World Health Organization (WHO) said the campaign slogan this time was “mental health care for all: let’s make it a reality.”
Since World Mental Health Day was started in 1992 as an annual activity of the World Federation for Mental Health (WFMH) by then-Deputy Secretary General Richard Hunter, the main objective of the annual event has been to raise awareness of mental health issues globally and to mobilize efforts supporting mental health.
The day provides an opportunity for everybody working on mental health issues to talk about their work, as well as what more still needs to be done to make mental health care a reality for people around the world, according to WHO.
Mental illness had been a significant issue for millions of people globally even before the COVID-19 pandemic started. But since lockdowns started around the world in early 2020, data has shown mental health issues have become even more prevalent. The pandemic has clearly had a significant impact on people’s mental health.
“Some groups, including health and other frontline workers, students, people living alone, and those with pre-existing mental health conditions, have been particularly affected,” according to WHO. Making things worse has been that “services for mental, neurological and substance use disorders have been significantly disrupted,” WHO pointed out.
There is, however, a reason to be optimistic, according to WHO. That is because, during the World Health Assembly in May 2021, governments around the world “recognized the need to scale up quality mental health services at all levels,” WHO said. “And some countries have found new ways of providing mental health care to their populations,” it noted.
During the 2021 World Mental Health Day campaign, WHO has been highlighting the efforts made in some of those countries and it encourages members of the public to highlight positive stories as part of their own activities if possible to help inspire others.
Companies that have jumped in to lend a hand have included Salesforce. In an Oct. 7 blog post, Salesforce said: “To talk about mental health is to understand it; to understand it is to remove the stigma; and to remove the stigma is to provide a safe space and support for those suffering. Thanks to global entertainers like Lady Gaga and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, and world-class athletes like Kevin Love and Simone Biles, there’s already a shift toward candid public conversations, making mental health far less stigmatized than ever.”
After the past year and a half of “pandemic-fueled isolation — undoubtedly a primary factor in 42% of adults experiencing anxiety and depression, up 11% from previous years — educational institutions and businesses are making the mental wellbeing of their students and employees a priority,” according to Salesforce. “Still, less than half of all Americans with a mental disorder actually get the treatment they need,” Salesforce said, citing National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) data.
For Black Americans, mental health statistics are “even more sobering,” according to Salesforce, which said: “They are 20% more likely to experience serious mental health problems than the general population. The reasons for these discrepancies are deep-rooted, often spanning generations, and are the physical manifestations of lifetimes of abuse and inequality that have been baked into the fabric of America since its inception.”
Ahead of World Mental Health Day, Salesforce devoted a special episode of its Force Multiplier podcast to a conversation about mental health with Charlamagne Tha God, author and host of the nationally syndicated radio show The Breakfast Club, and Benjamin Perks, head of campaigns and advocacy in the Division of Global Communications at the United Nations Children’s Fund.
“Having those open and honest conversations is central to the #OnMyMind campaign,” Salesforce said.
“If we can ensure that every child on the planet has this message and has this understanding of self — and if we can make sure that every society is able to ensure that every child is valued and every family member is able to talk about mental health — then this is going to be a real game changer,” according to Perks.
Additionally, Gemi Bertran, CEO and founder of the Nourish the Brain Institute, will be one of the featured speakers Nov. 10 at the annual SoCal Women’s Leadership Summit, presented by Women in Technology Hollywood (WiTH). In her talk, she’ll discuss brain health and the surrounding issues people managers should be aware of.
Bertran specializes in transitioning experience military veterans into the civilian workplace.