10 世界心理健康日 World Mental Health Day

World Mental Health Day is on October the 10th every year. It was started by the World Federation for Mental Health in 1992. The MentalHealth.org website says: “It is a unified effort to promote greater public awareness and understanding of mental health and mental illness.” Every year, thousands worldwide raise awareness and funds for mental health causes. The United Nations strongly supports this day, saying: “Greater efforts are needed to address the difficulties in providing mental health care and protecting the human rights of those with severe disorders.” General-Secretary Ban Ki-moon stated: "Mental health is of paramount importance for personal well-being, family relationships and an individual’s ability to contribute to society.”

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines mental health as "a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community”. The organization says there is a great need today to focus more resources on mental disorders. More than 75 per cent of people who suffer from mental health problems live in the developing world. They have very few opportunities to receive proper treatment. The WHO stresses there is an urgent need to “scale up care for mental, neurological and substance use disorders” in order to close the massive treatment gap between rich and poor nations.