World Mental Health Day 2012
By Charlotte Fantelli
Today (10th October) is World Mental Health Day, it is a day when those of us who work in mental health have our voice amplified by events, blogs and the wider media. This year the focus of WMHD is depression.
Depression
Depression is a condition that affects day-to-day life. It is more than feeling a bit low, or reacting to negative circumstances, it is not a weakness, a personality trait, or a choice of any sort, it is an illness. The good news is there is much that can be done to manage and overcome depression - please see our free resources on depression for more information.
Awareness video
This little video, released in time for WMHD, by the World Health Organisation and the incredibly talented author Matthew Johnstone, depicts the condition very well. Please do take a look and share:
World Mental Health Day events
World Mental Health day is not about the grand, the big or the spectacular, it is about connecting with people right where they are! That is why I wanted to hear from our twitter followers and see what is going on where they are. Please feel free to join in the conversation, and to post your own happenings below - we would love to hear from you!
Peace of Mind
Brighton Housing Trust have launched a mental health campaign called 'Peace of Mind'. The week of events surrounding World Mental Health Day aims to raise money for their Threshold project that helps women in the area. The campaign also raises awareness by showing hard hitting films about real people in the area and their experiences with mental illness. Other events include a twitter campaign #peaceofmind cake sale, reading group and a quiz.
Melanie Barnard, Threshold Manager says: “At a time when we are seeing reductions in local services, with women services particularly affected, Threshold’s counselling and crèche services are needed more than ever before. This year we need to raise £15,000 to cover the increased demand and ensure the project reaches every women who needs it.”
Be sure to check out @BHT_Sussex on twitter. You can support the campaign by texting THRE50£ to 70070.
Youth education
@Rachic11 tells us about the fantastic resource pack put together by @YouthWorkHub please check it out here: youthworkresources.drupalgardens.com/content/world-mental-health-day-2012-resource-pack
Marc Brammer @marccounsellor tells us "I'm organising an information stand at my local college to raise awareness about teen mental health issues and stigmas"
Blog Party
@PsychCentral will be hosting their 2nd annual Blog Party, in which bloggers from around the world get to share blogs about mental health. This is a great way of strengthening the mental health community and sharing many insights and voices from across the globe, I will be sure to get involved and if you want to do the same, simply create a blog post and once posted, simply let Psych Central know by emailing [email protected] - today!!
Further afield
This truly is a global event with followers further afield telling us about their plans. Retha, @RethaYoku a doctor and teacher from Malang tells us "we will conduct a Seminar for teachers, theme: How to recognize stress and depression in students and its management ;)"
While Sitawa Wafula @SitawaWafula a mental health ambassador in Kenya is planning something that sounds like great fun "a family fun day w/ Yoga, paintball, chess and ed tents".
Get involved
Whatever you are planning, we would love to hear from you, please do get involved with us by posting your plans in the comment section below and by joining us on Twitter: @Mental_Healthy, we will be retweeting your events throughout the day.
Comments
The area. The campaign also
success
The negative circumstances,
The project that helps women
Why a dog?
Tell us what you are doing
Please use thiis space to promote what you are doing the World Mental Health Day!
IPSWICH SUFFOLK
It is more than feeling a bit
Thank you
Thanks for letting us know - best of luck with that :)