In today’s world, we are seeing increasing awareness about mental health and the stigma around it slowly chipping away. Society is gradually understanding that maintaining good mental health is as vital as maintaining physical health. Today, a majority of the population knows mental health terms, importance of psychological counselling and therapies largely because of the effort taken by mental health professionals to bring about this awareness. One of the results of these efforts is dedicating the month of October to bring awareness about mental health. Specifically, October 10th is marked as ‘World Mental health Day’ by the World Federation of Mental Health (WFMH). Different themes are proposed each year and for 2023 it is, “Mental Health is a Universal Human Right”. This year’s theme enables us to understand that mental health applies to the entire population with no discrimination, and everyone has the right to receive quality mental health care. We can be instrumental towards this global campaign by taking this information forward, proactively taking care of our mental health.
Here is an action plan to help us get started,
Step 1 – to educate ourselves about mental health from reliable resources,
Step 2 – to take care of personal mental health and
Step 3 – to support the people around us.
Step 1 is to learn about mental health and educate ourselves with an open mind. Jorm A et al (1997)defined Mental health literacy as the knowledge and beliefs about mental health disorders which aid their recognition, management, or prevention. In simple words, a mental health literate will have an understanding on how to obtain and maintain a good mental health. This also entails one’s knowledge and beliefs about various psychological distress, self-help, significance of seeking professional help and gathering mental health information from authentic sources. A trusted source can be our therapist/psychologist/psychiatrist, books and research articles, renowned health websites like WHO, APA etc. Educating ourselves will help us understand the intensity of the mental health terms and be mindful of the usage.
Step 2, Self-care. Dorociak et al (2017)defines self-care as a multidimensional, multifaceted process of purposeful engagement in strategies that promote healthy functioning and enhance well-being. To put it simply, self-care is taking conscious efforts to care for our physical, mental, and emotional health. Well, let us start with the basics, maintaining a proper sleep schedule, using relaxation exercises like meditation, and spending time with our friends and family. Journaling will help us clear our minds, organise the multitude of thoughts and the feelings into a notebook to deal with the situations. Following psychological counselling appointments is a fundamental part of our self-care plan.
Step 3, is to support the people around us. While following steps 1 and 2 we can also lend our support to people around us and be an empathetic listening ear. We can do this by developing active listening skills which will help us empathise with them, being non-judgemental and restate their words when they are sharing their story. Essentially making sure that they know that reaching out for help is normal and can greatly benefit them. Also, having a conversation helps them understand the importance of psychological therapies and encouraging them to seek help from a mental health professional.
Conclusion
The evolving landscape of mental health awareness has opened doors to a more empathetic and informed society. Our role in this movement is clear: educate ourselves about mental health, prioritise self-care, and extend a supportive hand to those in need. By doing so, we contribute to a world where mental well-being is cherished as a fundamental human right, creating a brighter and more compassionate future for all.
References
Dorociak, K. E., Rupert, P. A., Bryant, F. B., & Zahniser, E. (2017). Development of the Professional Self-Care Scale. Journal of counseling psychology, 64(3), 325–334. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000206
Jorm, A. (2000). Mental health literacy: Public knowledge and beliefs about mental disorders. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 177(5), 396-401.
doi:10.1192/bjp.177.5.396