This year World Mental Health Day is being celebrated with the theme ‘Mental Health in an Unequal World’
Cyprus International University (CIU) Psychological Counseling and Guidance Center (PCGC) Specialist Psychologist Çise Haşimoğulları, speaking within the scope of 10th October World Mental Health Day, stated, “The general aim of World Mental Health Day is to raise awareness in relation to the mental health problems across the world, and to put into action efforts to support mental health”.
Explaining that the theme for this year’s World Mental Health Day has been determined as “Mental Health in an Unequal World”, Haşimoğulları added that they set out with the slogan ‘Mental health care for all!’.
Haşimoğulları elaborated that the aim of this year's theme is to focus on the issues that perpetuate mental health inequality on local and global scales and to take tangible steps in eliminating them.
Reminding that the entire world has been under the effects of the COVID-19 epidemic for a while now, Haşimoğulları went on to say, “A number of precautions have been taken in protection against the virus, along with the suggestions and calls that were made by the World Health Organization and scientists. Since mental health does not always stay the same and can change along with changes in circumstances, the COVID-19 process has posed a serious threat upon mental health”.
In her statement, advising that according to the results of a number of research performed, it was found that anxiety, fear, limitations, and isolations could lead to psychological problems for individuals, Haşimoğulları noted that these problems could be in the form of negative effects upon the social or economic life, anxiety disorder, or obsessive-compulsive disorders”.
Drawing attention to the fact that we live in a world of inequality, Haşimoğulları elaborated, “We can see inequality based on race and ethnic roots, sexual orientation, and gender identity in a number of countries, which include individuals experiencing mental health issues. While the theme chosen for 2021 highlights that the right for individuals to obtain psychological support is unequal, at the same time it also shows that good mental health includes not only the absence of diagnosable disorders but the prevention of the development of many such problems”.
Pointing out that the inequalities in relation to mental health must be taken to hand and urgent action needs to be taken, Haşimoğulları concluded, “It is very important to encourage researchers to share what they know about mental health inequality, including practical ideas on how to tackle it, and to work on preventative factors. Mental health is everyone's responsibility”.