Tomorrow, 10th October 2020, is World Mental Health Day – a day to understand, recognise and prioritise our mental wellbeing.

This year, World Mental Health Day aims to encourage people to take the first step towards better mental health.

Although society is becoming more open to conversations about mental health, there is still a lot of room for improvement.

What is Mental Health?

‘Mental health’ and ‘mental health problems’ are often incorrectly used interchangeably.

Mental health is a spectrum; we all have mental health but we lie in different places along the scale of good and poor mental health.

There are around 300 different recognised mental health problems; these are the five most common ones:

• Depression
  Depression affects around 300 million people worldwide
  
  
• Anxiety
  Anxiety affects around 140 million people worldwide
  
  
• Bipolar Affective Disorder
  Bipolar Affective Disorder affects around 60 million people worldwide
  
  
• Schizophrenia
  Schizophrenia affects around 23 million people worldwide
  
  
• Dementia
  Dementia affects around 50 million people worldwide

1 in 4 people will face mental health issues at some point in their life, which is why it’s essential that mental health is recognised as being equally as important as physical health.

How Has COVID-19 Impacted the Nation’s Mental Health?

According to Mind, a renowned mental health charity, 60% of adults and 68% of young people say that their mental health has deteriorated during lockdown.

This doesn’t come as a shock; the months of lockdown, loss and isolation have undoubtedly impacted many people’s mental wellbeing.

What Can We Do to Help Look After Our Mental Health?

Having good mental health doesn’t mean never facing any difficulties, it means having the strength and resilience to overcome struggles.

There are many aspects to maintaining mental wellbeing and different self-care methods work for different people as no two minds are exactly alike.

If you’re looking for tips on looking after your mental health both during lockdown and post-pandemic, here are five articles that can help you:

• How to Improve Your Mental Wellbeing
  
  
• Tips for Everyday Living
  
  
• How to Be Mentally Healthy at Work
  
  
• Taking Care of Your Staff
  
  
• Mental Wellbeing: Useful Contacts

The key thing to remember is that there is no overnight fix for improving our mental health.

Taking the first step towards improving our mental wellbeing is often the most difficult step, but it’s also the most rewarding.

Motivational Mental Health Quotes to Remember on a Bad Day

• “Mental health is not a destination, but a process. It’s about how you drive, not where you are going”
  
  
• “A problem isn’t a problem, but rather an opportunity to improve”
  
  
• “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”