October 10th is World Mental Health Day, making it an excellent time to raise awareness, educate others, and celebrate mental health recovery. Millions of people struggle with their mental health daily. Despite this fact, there’s a lot of misinformation about mental illness and treatment. Yet, times like these are invaluable for educating the public and destigmatizing mental illness. These conversations begin close to home. Start by discussing mental health with your friends and family members and explain how it’s impacted your life.
Whether you’re struggling with a mental health condition like anxiety, depression, or substance use disorder (SUD), treatment is available. Consider working with West Coast Recovery Centers to learn more about seeking treatment for your struggles with mental health, addiction recovery, and dual diagnosis treatment. We can help you discover a path toward long-term, sustainable recovery today!
What Is Mental Illness?
Mental Illness is a relatively broad term, but in essence, it’s an umbrella term that encompasses a wide range of complex disorders. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), approximately 57.8 million people struggled with mental illness in 2021. These conditions can influence how a person thinks, behaves, and feels. If left untreated, these conditions can lead to the development of further mental health concerns, wreaking havoc on almost every area of a person’s life.
Several factors can lead to the development of a mental health condition. For example, having a family history of mental illness can increase the chances of a person developing a disorder. Environmental and social factors can also heavily influence this development. Like SUD, trauma can be a significant influence on the chances of someone developing a mental health condition, as the brain has its own particular ways of protecting itself during these traumatic events.
Aside from these influences, what other factors may be contributing to the overall decline of mental health in our world?
What Factors Contribute to Decline Mental Health?
Childhood abuse or neglect, trauma, isolation, and genetics all contribute to the development of mental health conditions. However, the question remains – why are so many struggling?
It’s difficult to pinpoint specifically what is contributing to such a worldwide decline in mental health. However, some possible reasons include:
- Increases in neglect, trauma, and abuse
- The rise and increased use of social media
- Extreme isolation and loneliness
- Lack of access to mental health care
- Continued residual effects of the COVID-19 pandemic
Not only is it necessary to spread awareness about the risks leading to a decline in mental health, but it’s equally critical to discuss what to do about it.
Practices Toward Mental Health Recovery
Several treatments can help people recover from a mental health condition. Those include:
- Psychotherapy: Also known as talk therapy, this form of treatment is one of the most common mental health treatments. It involves talking with a mental health professional about one’s problems while receiving education and healthy coping skills.
- Medication: This form of treatment is frequently used to treat mental health conditions. Individuals may be prescribed mood stabilizers, antidepressants, antianxiety meds, or in more severe cases, antipsychotics. Medication is usually most effective when used in combination with talk therapies.
Though these are two of the most common ways people achieve mental health recovery, there are also holistic practices that aid in the process. That includes mindfulness, yoga, healthy eating, and other life changes that improve overall well-being.
While there’s no cure for a mental health condition, there’s hope. However, not everyone knows this. That’s why spreading awareness about mental health recovery is so crucial.
How Can Individuals Spread Awareness for World Mental Health Day?
There are many ways you can spread awareness for World Mental Health Day, some of which include:
- Continually educating yourself and others about mental illness, provider care, and recovery
- Supporting others in their journey of mental health recovery and seeking support for yourself
- Joining advocacy groups and efforts to increase access to mental health services
- Volunteering at local mental health organizations and getting involved with local events or fundraisers
- Sharing information and resources with people in need of mental health treatment
Taking Advantage of Your Mental Health Recovery on World Mental Health Day
In your pursuit of education and awareness, you must continue supporting your own mental health. You can do so by taking advantage of Mental Health Awareness Day this October by:
- Prioritizing enough quality sleep
- Taking a day off as a self-care day
- Speaking with your support network
- Spending more time with friends and family
- Creating manageable goals for your recovery
- Getting outside and spending time in nature
- Unplugging from social media, email, and technology
- Engaging in creative hobbies and projects
- Practicing stress-reducing activities like walking or meditating
- Getting active in the hopes of elevating your overall mood
Self-care, treatment, and spreading awareness are necessary throughout the year, but what better time to jump-start it than on World Mental Health Day? Use this time of year to seek treatment for yourself or a loved one, and consider working with West Coast Recovery Centers today!
October 10th is World Mental Health Day, making it the perfect time for seeking treatment, spreading awareness, and educating others on the dangers of untreated mental health conditions. Whether you’re struggling with substance use disorder (SUD) or other mental health conditions, psychotherapy, medication-assisted treatment, and holistic practices can help with treatment and recovery. Many don’t realize there’s hope, but spreading information and resources can change that. Consider how different life can look when mental illness isn’t in control. Take the first step toward treatment and recovery by contacting West Coast Recovery Centers at (760) 492-6509. You can start your path toward a healthier life of recovery and start preparing to celebrate World Mental Health Day today!