Yesterday was World Mental Health Day 2021. A day to raise awareness of mental health issues around the world and to rally efforts in support of mental health. This year’s theme is ‘Mental Health in an Unequal World’.
Over the last two years, we have seen new mental health problems come to light due to the pandemic while for many of us existing mental health problems have worsened. Looking after our wellbeing has never been more critical and mental health awareness is becoming a top priority for employers.
2020 brought to light many existing inequalities around the world due to race, sexual orientation, gender identity, and the lack of human rights in many countries, including for people living with mental health conditions. It’s in these gaps in our society where mental health is visibly different.
A Mind report found that “Pre-existing inequalities have been worsened by the pandemic, and the report highlighted how the pandemic’s effects on mental health have been disproportionate.”
The report found that the following groups of people are more likely to report that their mental health has declined:
- Women
- Frontline workers
- People with disabilities
- Those living in social housing
- People with eating disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, or personality disorders
World Mental Health Day also provides an opportunity for stakeholders working on mental health issues to talk about what more needs to be done to make mental health care a reality for people worldwide. Last week during our Friday FedTalk Marcoms Executive, Hannah Freeman spoke to the team about mental health inequalities around the world. (FedTalks – like TED talks, with a tasty twist. It’s a chance to get for us to get together, develop our skills, and share knowledge amongst the team). During the talk, we launched our Concirrus 30 day wellbeing challenge #DoOneThing.
This year mental health charity Mind launched their #doonething initiative encouraging people to “do one thing today and start a conversation about mental health inequality.” At Concirrus we know access to mental health support is often determined by where you live and who you are. With that in mind, we have created a wellbeing calendar encouraging our team to do one simple action every day to improve our wellbeing and mental health. The 30 day challenge focuses on themes such as digital detoxing, positivity, getting active, reflecting, connecting with others, and getting creative.
It doesn’t matter who you are we can all do one small action to work together to improve our mental wellbeing.
See the calendar below which is packed with actions you can take to better your mental health for the next 30 days. So, why not get involved and help change your mood for the better.
Learn more about how you can become a champion for mental health awareness at work here.
