World Mental Health Day 10 October 2022

World Mental Health Day is on 10 October every year, it is organized by the World Health Organisation and has been running for over 70 years. Each year World Mental Health Day has a theme, this year’s theme is “Make mental health and wellbeing a global priority.”

World Mental Health Day is also a chance to talk about mental health in general, how we need to look after it, and how important it is to talk about things and get help if you are struggling.

Making mental health and wellbeing a global priority could feel like a tall order, perhaps we could start by making our own mental health and wellbeing a priority, and pay more attention to the wellbeing those closest to us such as our family, friends and colleagues.

This is perhaps a day when you can think of ways to make your wellbeing number one on your to do list. Below are some questions to think about and explore how you can priorities your mental health in your everyday life and ensuring your good wellbeing.

1. What do you enjoy in life? What do you love to do? Think about hobbies, exercise, people you love spending time with. Make a list and then consciously plan in activities that make you happy, try to include something every day, it could be something small, such as taking a walk in your lunchtime or going to bed early with a good book. You are looking for the small things in life as much as the big things that feed you and make you feel good.
2. What are you struggling with? We all have things that we struggle with in life, if you have a problem that you are finding it hard to deal with, perhaps now is the time to seek help, from a friend, a family member or a professional such as Paul. Perhaps you are struggling with a relationship, work, low self-esteem or depression. Reaching out and talking to someone can help you work through your problems to help you find the right way forward for you.
3. What is happening in your life right now that is unhelpful? Is there anything that you need to stop doing? This could be something like smoking, or drinking too much coffee, using social media too much or spending too much time in front of the tv, a relationship that feels harmful to you, or a any situation that you are in that is causing you to feel down or is unhealthy to you. Is there a way that you could stop engaging in the activity or changing things so that they feel better for you?

These three questions are aimed at helping you be proactive about your mental health and wellbeing and taking ownership of what you do want in your life what you don’t want and where you need to ask for help. It might be too much to do all three things at once but you could start with number one and add more joyful things into your life before moving to number two and so on. With question two you might not feel that you are struggling with anything at the moment, in which case this might be an opportunity for you to prioritise the mental health and wellbeing of those close to you, check in friends and family or colleagues and support them to get professional help if they need it.

Mental Health UK has various exercises you can consider in your journey to prioritizing your mental health.

If you are struggling with any problem, you might want to talk to a professional. Paul Carter is a counsellor and psychotherapist with many years of experience, you can learn more about Paul here on the About Paul Page. If you would like to make an appointment with him please use the Contact Page or call on 07843 813 537. Paul works in Birmingham and Kingswinford, although currently due to COVID is working exclusively online and on the telephone. For more information about how counselling works and current fees please take a look at the FAQs page