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“October is Mental Health Awareness Month,” my stepmother wrote me in a text yesterday.
I had no idea.
My stepmother would know. She works in in the mental health care field, in Human Resources.
“How do they deal with mental health there in Europe?” she asked me.
“I honestly don’t know much about it,” I replied. “I know people here in Spain who have ADD and who struggle with depression. I know that they see a psychiatrist for medication from time to time. Other than that. I honestly have no idea.”
Unaware
I was obviously unaware—unaware of how the country where I live—Spain—handles mental health care, unaware that October is Mental Health Awareness Month.
I guess that’s why the World Health Organization (WHO) does this . . . to help us grow in our awareness of these silent, hidden issues.
As a result of the texting conversation with my stepmother, I started doing some research.
I discovered this morning that—not only is October Mental Health Awareness Month—but today, October 10, is “World Mental Health Day.”
I had no idea.
Pandemic Theme
As I researched further, I found that this year’s theme revolves around the global pandemic of COVID-19 and raising funds for the resulting, and growing, mental health care needs around the world.
“This year’s World Mental Health Day, on 10 October, comes at a time when our daily lives have changed considerably as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The past months have brought many challenges: for health-care workers, providing care in difficult circumstances, going to work fearful of bringing COVID-19 home with them; for students, adapting to taking classes from home, with little contact with teachers and friends, and anxious about their futures; for workers whose livelihoods are threatened; for the vast number of people caught in poverty or in fragile humanitarian settings with extremely limited protection from COVID-19; and for people with mental health conditions, many experiencing even greater social isolation than before. And this is to say nothing of managing the grief of losing a loved one, sometimes without being able to say goodbye.
The economic consequences of the pandemic are already being felt, as companies let staff go in an effort to save their businesses, or indeed shut down completely.Given past experience of emergencies, it is expected that the need for mental health and psychosocial support will substantially increase in the coming months and years. Investment in mental health programmes at the national and international levels, which have already suffered from years of chronic underfunding, is now more important than it has ever been.
World Mental Health Day 2020
This is why the goal of this year’s World Mental Health Day campaign is increased investment in mental health.”
The Stigma
In order to raise awareness, Mental Health—formerly the Association of Mental Health—organized the first Mental Health Awareness Month in 1949. The emphasis of this event in recent years has been on the stigma associated with mental health.
“Stigma is one of the main reasons why people don’t come forward for mental health treatment. Patients view their symptoms as a mark of their character instead of a problem with their biology, outside of their control. People do not see a broken leg as a sign of personal inadequacy, but they may take that view with mental health conditions.”
“Mental health issues are still widely misunderstood by both the public and mental health professionals. While there is far less stigma surrounding issues that affect the body, health issues that concern the mind still carry some of the burdens of the past.”
Mental Health Month (October, 2020) | Days Of The Year
Misunderstood.
Thus, World Mental Health Day . . . thus, Mental Health Awareness Month.
Curious to Learn
I don’t know about you, but I’m curious now. I would like to learn more, perhaps ask questions to those around me, and find out how Spain and other European countries deal with mental health care.
Is there a stigma associated with getting mental health care in Europe? Are people embarrassed or ashamed to see a psychologist, a psychiatrist, or a counselor if needed? If a married couple is struggling, is it culturally acceptable for them to get marriage counseling to save their couple, their family? Do people feel the need to hide if they are getting mental health care or can they openly talk about it with no stigma attached?
I don’t know the answers to these questions, but I think it’s time for me to find out and to become more “aware” of mental health care here in Spain.
Mental health care concerns us all. One in five of us will experience mental health issues at some point in our life journey. We must be “aware” . . . all of us!
—THE CULTURAL STORY-WEAVER
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What about in your part of the world? How is mental health care viewed? Is there a stigma?
We invite you to tell us your own cultural stories and global adventures . . . as you engage with the world, breaking down barriers, building bridges, and “weaving cultures”! Write about them in the comment box below.
