World Mental Health Day 2014

Friday 10th October is World Mental Health Day 2014; 
this year's theme is Living with Schizophrenia.

Established in 1992 by the World Federation for Mental Health (WFMH), World Mental Health Day provides a global, regional, & local focus on mental health awareness, education, & advocacy. Emotional, psychological, behavioural, & neurological 'disorders' are remarkably common - the 1996 Global Burden of Disease study showed neuro-psychiatric disorders account for over 25% of all health loss due to disability, 8 times greater than coronary heart disease, 20 times greater than cancer, this highlighted the central place of mental distress in population health & the demand for proper health service responses.

Some facts:

*  schizophrenia, depression, dementia, substance abuse & other mental illnesses make up 13% of global disease burden (WHO)

*  more than 450 million people across the world experience mental illness (NIH)

*  US citizens diagnosed with severe mental illness will die 25 years earlier than the general population; even in Denmark, with universal health coverage, it is almost 19 years earlier This differential is even greater in the developing world

*  suicide is one of the three leading causes of death for those between 15 - 44 years of age, & second leading cause of death in the 10 - 24 year age group (WHO

*  suicide rates have increased 60% globally (WHO); more than 90% of those who kill themselves have a diagnosable mental illness (NIH)

*  mental & psychological disabilities are associated with unemployment rates as high as 90% (WHO)

*  people who experience severe mental illness are more likely to have other major heath risk factors as well e.g. in the US 22% of the general population smoke, this rises to more than 75% of those with a severe mental illness; folk with depression are twice as likely to be obese.

*  in the UK 70% of people affected by mental illness experience discrimination

*  by 2030 depression will be the second highest cause of disease burden (WHO) 

… Fundamental Facts, a comprehensive summary of mental health research, is available from the the Mental Health Foundation.

Every year, World Mental Health Day enables tens of thousands of people across the world to raise awareness & tackle stigma, to highlight available help & raise funds for such help, to promote individual self-awareness & encourage those experiencing mental distress to actively seek help… openness, communication, knowledge, & compassion, these are the values that underpin World Mental Health Day.