October 10th is World Mental Health Day, and a chance to take time to take a step back, do something for yourself and try and do something for others.
Why is it important?
With one in four people experiencing mental health difficulties each year, this impacts a huge number of people. Mental health is linked to general well-being and doesn’t always stay the same.
There is often a Stigma around mental health too, meaning many people do not reach out for support. With a staggering 90% of people with mental health problems reporting it had led to stigma and discrimination and, something clearly needs to change. There is an insightful quiz from Time to Change to show more about stigma.
How to look after yourself and others
The list is almost endless of what you can do. The main thing is taking time and being honest with yourself. It is OK to not be OK.
A technique frequently used in mindfulness, is meditation. There are lots of free sites and apps that can help with this with a few examples below:
RMC’s very own Mindfulness master James has done some overviews of Mindfulness, what it is, how it works and it’s benefits.
Along with this, there are great videos available online:
Find out more
The Mental health foundation have some fantastic resources to learn more about mental health, why it’s important and what you can do to improve your mental health to live a better life.
