Mental Health and Its Global Impact
“No one would ever say that someone with a broken arm or a broken leg is less than a whole person, but people say that or imply that all the time about people with mental illness.”— Elyn R. Saks
Throughout our lives, we may experience a variety of physical health conditions and concerns. Generally speaking, when we hear about someone being diagnosed with an illness or breaking their leg, we express empathy towards that person. We acknowledge what they are experiencing. We discuss how important it is to exercise and eat a well balanced diet. We understand the importance of maintaining our physical health. Everyone has to take care of their physical health.
Just like physical health, everyone has mental health. Maintaining one’s mental health is incredibly important for our overall well-being. The conversations about physical and mental health are not always on an equal playing field. In many cases, people do not prioritize mental health in the same way that we prioritize physical health. In recent years, we are starting to see a shift to destigmatize mental health conditions and acknowledge the importance of maintaining mental health as well as physical health.
This shift has greatly impacted the conversations surrounding mental health. We are discussing more ways to maintain our mental health. We are acknowledging the connections between our mental and physical health. We are beginning to recognize how much our mental health truly does impact us. In discussions of maintaining our mental health, we often talk about self-care and how engaging in behaviors that affect our physical, mental, and emotional well-being impacts us holistically in a positive way. If you are interested in reading more about learning to practice self-care, you can read about it in our previous blog post here, but how we care for ourselves impacts our overall well-being.
World Mental Health Day!
Every October on the 10th, we celebrate World Mental Health Day, which has been around since 1992 when it was started by the World Federation for Mental Health. We spend this day advocating and spreading awareness for mental health issues and their global impact. The truth is that mental illness and mental health issues do have a major impact worldwide. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 1 in 8 people around the world are living with a mental disorder; this equates to approximately 970 million people.
There are many types of mental illnesses or disorders; here is a list of some of the different types:
Anxiety Disorders
Depression
Bipolar Disorder
Eating Disorders
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Schizophrenia
Healthcare professionals refer to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5-TR) to provide effective diagnosing of mental illnesses.
Mental illness is treatable.
The theme for this year’s World Mental Health Day is “Mental health is a universal human right”. Although mental illnesses are treatable, there are many barriers that people experience to getting appropriate and effective care.
Barriers to Mental Health Treatment:
High Cost/Lack of Affordable Options
Lack of Awareness and Education about Mental Health
Societal Stigma
Lack of availability to mental health care services and professionals
Racial barriers to accessing mental health care services
These barriers greatly impact people’s access to treatment and may even affect your personal access to mental health treatment.
How do we tackle these barriers to mental health care?
This is a question we are trying to find answers to. Each of these barriers can potentially be addressed through a variety of diverse solutions, but it starts with awareness and education. Taking time during World Mental Health Day to spread awareness and educate is a good step, but extending that into our everyday lives helps continue this work. That is something we prioritize at Be Kind Counseling. Though we work every day with our clients to support them through their personal struggles, we also help to advocate for change to support them and others outside of our therapy sessions too.
If you or someone you know is struggling with their mental health and is seeking support through effective, appropriate psychotherapy, consider contacting us through our contact page here. Be Kind Counseling is here to help you through the things you are struggling with and provide you with support.
