World Mental Health Day

Today, Thursday 10th October, marks World Mental Health Day. It is a day dedicated to raising awareness and educating all on mental health.

Since 1992, the day has been part of an effort to stimulate dialogue for sufferers. Each year, the day has a different theme, with the theme this year being suicide prevention.

This theme was chosen due to the stark statistics in accordance to this subject. Notably, suicide is the second leading cause of death among 15-29 year olds. But, the importance of this years theme is that suicide is preventable. Prevention can be implemented at individual, community and national level. For example, counselling, support groups and education within schools. Studies have also found that 90% of people who were in the process of acting on their plan to commit suicide but were stopped before attempting, did not go on to commit suicide again (Seiden, 1978). This evidences the upmost importance of prevention.

“Each year, more than 800,000 people die by suicide every year. For each suicide, there are more than 20 suicide attempts” 

As part of the campaign, the World Federation for Mental Health is asking all to wear the colour yellow. This is part of a bid to raise awareness with the hashtag #HelloYellow. Celebrities, including Ed Sheehan and Prince Harry, are also getting involved by urging people to speak up and talk about the subject. Their viral ‘Gingers Unite’ video asks the public to reach out to friends, family and even strangers to prevent silence and suffering.

It is important to note, that mental health is just like physical health. Everyone has it and therefore it is vital to take care of it. The mental health charity Mind gives tips for helping to manage and better understand mental health. 

As part of the effort to tackle mental health at university, the University of Nottingham offers a counselling service (Tel: 0115 951 3695) and support on who to contact when seeking mental health help via their website. In accordance, Nottingham Nightline (Tel: 0115 951 4985), a student led society, offers anonymous listening and a support service every night from 7pm to 8am. 

For more information on the subject of mental health and suicide prevention, here are some important websites: Anxiety UK, Calm, Mental Health Foundation, Mind, Samaritans. 

Mia Haffety

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Featured image courtesy of World Mental Health Day via Facebook. No changes made to the image. License found here.