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International days are marked to educate the public on issues of concern, to address global problems, and to celebrate and reinforce the achievements of humanity. Each international day provides the community an opportunity to organize activities related to the theme and to create public awareness on the same. Organizations, governments, public and private sectors, schools, universities, and citizens make the international day a springboard for awareness-raising actions. In this article let us check on World Mental Health Day 2022 – History, Theme, Activities, Quotes, and Quiz.
World Mental Health Day 2022 Date – Monday, 10 October
In this article, readers can get a glimpse on
- History of World Mental Health Day
- World Mental Health day theme 2022
- World Mental Health day facts 2022
- Activities that can be observed on World Mental Health day
- World Mental Health day quotes
- World Mental Health day Quiz
World Mental Health Day 2022 History
World Mental Health Day was celebrated for the first time on October 10, 1992, at the initiative of Deputy Secretary-General Richard Hunter. Up until 1994, the day had no specific theme other than general promoting mental health advocacy and educating the public. World Mental Health Day is an international day for global mental health education, awareness and advocacy against social stigma. It was first celebrated in 1992 at the initiative of the World Federation for Mental Health, a global mental health organization with members and contacts in more than 150 countries. Thousands of supporters come to celebrate this annual awareness program to bring attention to mental illness and its major effects.
In 1994 World Mental Health Day was celebrated with a theme for the first time at the suggestion of Secretary-General Eugene Brody. The theme was “Improving the Quality of Mental Health Services throughout the World.” World Mental Health Day is supported by WHO through raising awareness on mental health issues using its strong relationships with the Ministries of health and civil society organizations across the globe.
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World Mental Health Day 2022 Theme
The WFMH President Dr. Ingrid Daniels has announced the theme for World Mental Health Day 2022 which is ‘Mental Health in an Unequal World’.
This theme was chosen by a global vote including WFMH members, stakeholders and supporters because the world is increasingly polarized, with the very wealthy becoming wealthier, and the number of people living in poverty still far too high. 2020 highlighted inequalities due to race and ethnicity, sexual orientation and gender identity, and the lack of respect for human rights in many countries, including for people living with mental health conditions. Such inequalities have an impact on people’s mental health.
This theme, chosen for 2021, will highlight that access to mental health services remains unequal, with between 75% to 95% of people with mental disorders in low- and middle-income countries unable to access mental health services at all, and access in high-income countries is not much better. Lack of investment in mental health disproportionate to the overall health budget contributes to the mental health treatment gap.
Many people with a mental illness do not receive the treatment that they are entitled to and deserve and together with their families and carers continue to experience stigma and discrimination. The gap between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’ grows ever wider and there is continuing unmet need in the care of people with a mental health problem.
Research evidence shows that there is a deficiency in the quality of care provided to people with mental health problems. It can take up to 15 years before medical, social, and psychological treatments for mental illness that have been shown to work in good quality research studies are delivered to the patients that need them in everyday practice.
The stigma and discrimination experienced by people who experience mental ill-health not only affects that person’s physical and mental health, stigma also affects their educational opportunities, current and future earning and job prospects, and also affects their families and loved ones. This inequality needs to be addressed because it should not be allowed to continue. We all have a role to play to address these disparities and ensure that people with lived experiences of mental health are fully integrated into all aspects of life.
People who experience physical illness also often experience psychological distress and mental health difficulties. An example is a visual impairment. Over 2.2 billion people have visual impairment worldwide, and the majority also experience anxiety and/ or depression and this is worsened for visually impaired people who experience adverse social and economic circumstances.
The COVID 19 pandemic has further highlighted the effects of inequality on health outcomes and no nation, however rich, has been fully prepared for this. The pandemic has and will continue to affect people, of all ages, in many ways: through infection and illness, sometimes resulting in death bringing bereavement to surviving family members; through the economic impact, with job losses and continued job insecurity; and with the physical distancing that can lead to social isolation.
We need to act, and act urgently.
The 2021 World Mental Health Day campaign ‘Mental Health in an Unequal World’ will enable us to focus on the issues that perpetuate mental health inequality locally and globally. We want to support civil societies to play an active role in tackling inequality in their local areas. We want to encourage researchers to share what they know about mental health inequality including practical ideas about how to tackle this.
When WFMH was formed in 1948 the world had emerged from war and was in a major crisis and much of this was tackled by collaboration between WFMH, WHO, UN, UNESCO, and other global stakeholders and citizens with an interest in mental health wellbeing.
We are again in the midst of another global crisis that is resulting in widening health, economic and social inequalities. The 2021 World Mental Health Day campaign provides an opportunity for us to come together and act together to highlight how inequality can be addressed to ensure people are able to enjoy good mental health.
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World Mental Health Day 2022 Facts
The following are few activities that can be observed on World mental Health Day.
- Take a day off from the digital world and speak to the people around you. Communicate and check if everyone around you is okay
- Conduct a RUOk campaign or LetsTalk campaign and help others voicing out the feelings
- Conduct or be a part of the World mental health Day Race. Walk around, inhale fresh air and relax
- Practice breathing exercises and try to relax your mind
- Institutions and offices can conduct relaxation activities and breathing exercises for the well being of staff and students
- Mental health check worksheets are available online which can be used at schools to engage students and check on their mental well being
- Donate, fundraise and help others to invest in the treatment of mental health-related issues
- Games can be conducted for enhancing the mental health of the staff and students
- The awareness campaigns can be conducted to help society be aware of the importance of taking care of mental health along with physical and social health. Society can be educated on how health has three dimensions and how all three areas and related and has to be taken care of with equal importance.
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World Mental Health Day 2022 Quotes
- ‘You can’t control everything. Sometimes you just need to relax and have faith that things will work out. Let go a little and just let life happen.’ – Kody Keplinger
- ‘Turn your demons into art, your shadow into a friend, your fear into fuel, your failures into teachers, your weaknesses into reasons to keep fighting. Don’t waste your pain. Recycle your heart.’ – Andrea Balt
- ‘Start by doing what’s necessary, then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.’ – Saint Francis of Assisi
- “I cannot stand the words “Get over it”. All of us are under such pressure to put our problems in the past tense. Slow down. Don’t allow others to hurry your healing. It is a process, one that may take years, occasionally, even a lifetime – and that’s OK.” – Beau Taplin
- ‘The strongest people are not those who show strength in front of the world but those who fight and win battles that others do not know anything about.’ – Jonathan Harnisch
- “My dark days made me strong. Or maybe I already was strong, and they made me prove it.” – Emery Lord
- “What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality.” – Plutarch
- “Healing doesn’t mean the damage never existed. It means the damage no longer controls your life.” – Akshay Dubey
World Mental Health Day 2022 Quiz
1. For every individual who dies by suicide, what is the estimated average of people affected?
C)
Ans: A)
It has been estimated that an average of 135 people suffer intense grief or are markedly affected. These people can include siblings, parents, grandparents, relatives, friends and the wider community. Find out more information at
2. Which of these is a common symptom of schizophrenia?
A) Violent behaviour
B) Split personality
C)Hallucinations and delusions
Ans: C)
Many believe that people with schizophrenia are likely to commit violence – however, most people with schizophrenia do not commit violent crimes, and are more likely to be victims of violence than perpetrators. Similarly, there is a common misconception that schizophrenia leads people to have split personalities, when this is not the case. In reality, schizophrenia’s most common symptoms are hallucinations, delusions and hearing voices.
3. Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is highly prevalent among adolescents and associated with suicidality. Which of the following statements is true?
D)
Ans: B)
4. What proportion of people with severe mental health problems have been victims of a crime in the previous year?
A) 28%
B) 12%
C) 45%
Ans: C)
5. Which of the following psychosocial factor is not associated with an increased risk of suicide?
B)
C)
D)
Ans: D)
6. What proportion of people with mental health problems experience stigma?
A) 90%
B) 50%
C) 10%
Ans: A)
7. What is the incidence rate of suicide among patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders and psychosis?
A)
B)
C)
D) None
Ans: B)
8. How many people will experience suicidal thoughts throughout their lifetime?
A) 33%
B) 2%
C) 17%
Ans: C)
9. Suicide risk assessment involves which of the following:
D)
Ans: D)
10. Which country’s Prime Minister was re-elected in 2001 after publicly taking time off for depression?
A) Norway
B) Mexico
C) Poland
Ans: A) Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik announced in 1998 that he was experiencing a depressive episode, and took three weeks of sick leave, before returning to office. Bondevik said he received thousands of supportive letters.
11. What proportion of people with mental health problems believe that workplace stress contributed to their illness?
A) One third of people
B) One fifth of people
C) Two thirds of people
Ans: C)
12. Which of these UK Prime Ministers experienced mental health problems?
A) Gordon Brown
B) Margaret Thatcher
C) Winston Churchill
Ans: C)
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