World Mental Health Day 2011

Today is World Mental Health Day.  The World Mental Health Day was started by the World Federation for Mental Health in 1992. The World Federation for Mental Health was set up in 1948 and their mission statement can be found here. Quoting from the mission statement:

‘WFMH is an international membership organization founded in 1948 to advance, among all peoples and nations, the prevention of mental and emotional disorders, the proper treatment and care of those with such disorders, and the promotion of mental health‘

Their website contains more information on World Mental Health Day here. The theme for the 2011 World Mental Health Day is ‘The Great Push. Investing in Mental Health‘. Thus the focus for this World Mental Health Day is on the need to invest in mental health and this is developed further on the World Health Organisation website. The World Health Organisation website has a page on World Mental Health Day where it is reported that low and middle-income countries spend less than 2% of the health budget on mental health. The UK Department of Health announce that they are allocating £15 million to continuing the ‘Time to Change‘ program until 2015. In Down and Connor there is a 10km cycle ride to raise money for mental health. An Australian social network mental health initiative is discussed in this Press Release.  World Mental Health Day has been further supported across the world today. The Mental Health Foundation supports World Mental Health Day on this page where they also announce an award for ‘Mental Health Heroes‘. Homeless Link have initiated an online mental health guide. They also have tea and talk fundraising event. MDF the charity for people with Bipolar Illness have an article on World Mental Health Day here. A creative arts day in Sheffield is covered here. A walk in the park to tackle stigma has also been organised by NEPFT in Chelmsford*.

There is coverage of World Mental Health Day in the media. The Guardian JoePublic blog features a round-up of World Mental Health Day related news. The Guardian also features a gallery of work by artist Bobby Baker who has experienced mental illness. They also feature a gallery of art work by the Cool Tan Arts charity. Dr Barmania covers a recent Nature paper on investment in mental health in this post on the Independent blog. Professor Gray argues for a simple revolution in his article at the Huffington Post. There are 5 suggestions for mental health in an article in the Times of India. There is also an article at National Awareness Days.com giving some background. Julie Hanks talks about therapy for therapists at PsychCentral. There is also coverage at ABC news. There is also coverage at the Moscow Times. People with mental illness have also been raising awareness by writing about their own illnesses in order to help overcome stigma. Lisa Harding writes about suffering from depression in this post and explains why World Mental Health Day is so important in overcoming stigma. Laura Babb writes about her recovery from depression in this post. Ross Wilson discusses his experiences of schizophrenia in this article on the BBC website.

An index of the site can be found here. The page contains links to all of the articles in the blog in chronological order. Twitter: You can follow ‘The Amazing World of Psychiatry’ Twitter by clicking on this link. Podcast: You can listen to this post on Odiogo by clicking on this link (there may be a small delay between publishing of the blog article and the availability of the podcast). It is available for a limited period. TAWOP Channel: You can follow the TAWOP Channel on YouTube by clicking on this link. Responses: If you have any comments, you can leave them below or alternatively e-mail justinmarley17@yahoo.co.uk. Disclaimer: The comments made here represent the opinions of the author and do not represent the profession or any body/organisation. The comments made here are not meant as a source of medical advice and those seeking medical advice are advised to consult with their own doctor. The author is not responsible for the contents of any external sites that are linked to in this blog.

*Declaration of Interest: Employee.