World Mental Health Day 2018

The World Federation for Mental Health is focusing the 2018 WMHDAY campaign on Young People and Mental Health in a Changing World. We want to bring attention to the issues our youth and young adults are facing in our world today and begin the conversation around what they need in order to grow up healthy, happy and resilient.

Lets all use this year to emphasize the needs of our young people. Its time to take a stand and demand more for this vulnerable population – our future depends on it! #worldmentalhealthday

Facts

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among 15–29-year-olds. – World Health Organization
1 in 5 young people suffer from a mental illness, that’s 20 percent of our population but yet only about 4 percent of the total health care budget is spent on our mental health. – teenmentalhealth.org
Every 10 minutes, somewhere in the world, an adolescent girl dies as a result of violence. – United Nations Children’s Fund
83% of young people say bullying has a negative impact on their self-esteem – ditchthelabel.org
Among nearly 100 transgender youth, ages 12 to 24, 51% reported ever thinking about suicide, while 30% had attempted it at least once in their lives. – Center for Transyouth Health at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

The best path to lifelong wellness is one that starts with good mental health. Young people that grow up with additional stressors due to the effects of trauma, transgender discrimination, major mental illness, bullying and suicide are far more likely to have mental health issues throughout the rest of their lives. World Mental Health Day 2018 will show the importance of creating more services and better care for our young people, and the issues they are experiencing the most these days. The acts of prevention, early interventions, resilience, available information and services are the key factors in creating a healthy future for our young people.

World Mental Health Day is an annual event which aims to:

1. Raise awareness of mental health issues across the globe
2. Mobilize efforts in support of mental health
3. Mental health problems are an extremely important issue worldwide due to their impact on the human rights and quality of life of those affected and their families

For more information, please visit the World Mental Health Day website.

Follow the WMHD twitter feed.

WHO World Mental Health Day Official link: http://www.who.int/mental_health/suicide-prevention/en/

WHO’s Preventing suicide: a community engagement toolkit: http://www.who.int/mental_health/world-mental-health-day/2018/en/

Our thanks to WMHD for the information on our webpage.