I sometimes hear people say that mental health is no longer a taboo subject, but if that were true, we probably wouldn’t need a World Mental Health Day every year.
With organisations like Mental Health Foundation, Mind, and Mates in Mind championing awareness, the fact is, we do still need the reminder. While we may be more comfortable acknowledging that other people might struggle, we’re not always as open about our own ups and downs.
I regularly see and hear people feeling they’ll be judged for exposing their vulnerability, feeling that they are letting others down in needing to take care of their mental health. They worry that the ‘stigma’ of cracks showing will follow them for years and that colleagues will always remember it.
I have experienced every one of these myself; it is deeply uncomfortable and part of the reason I will continue to lean into this important day to share personal experiences. My hope is that it will inspire others to take care of themselves or demonstrate a little more compassion to those who are struggling.
Good mental health isn’t a fixed state, it’s not something we can tick off like passing a driving test. It’s more like keeping a plant alive: you have to water it regularly, give it light, and occasionally accept that no matter what you do, it’s going to look a bit droopy some days. And that’s normal.
Self-care doesn’t have to mean grand gestures. It might mean letting the housework go and having a lie in, taking a walk outside instead of scrolling on your phone, or saying ‘no’ to that extra meeting that definitely could have been an email. For me, some days self-care is as simple as having a hot chocolate instead of just hot water.
But it’s not just about what we do for ourselves. We also need to look out for each other. Everyone we meet is carrying things we can’t see. The smallest kindness, a genuine ‘How are you?’, sending a friendly emoji over Teams or a listening ear can makes the biggest difference. Being kind and compassionate doesn’t cost us anything, but it can mean everything to the person on the receiving end.
So this World Mental Health Day, I want to encourage three things:
- Break the taboo - it’s okay to talk about how we’re really feeling.
- Practice self-care - proactively, not just when we’re running on empty.
- Be kind and compassionate - because we don’t know the battles others are fighting.
If we can do those things together, then maybe mental health will stop being something we only talk about one day a year and start being something we look after every day.