World Mental Health Day is almost upon us! Whether you run your own business or work as part of a team, read on for 10 ways you can mark this important day online.
What is Mental Health?
It’s an essential part of a person’s health. The World Health Organization (WHO) constitution says: “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”
According to the WHO, mental health is when an individual realizes their abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively, and is able to make a contribution to their community.
When is World Mental Health Day?
First marked in 1992 at the World Federation for Mental Health, World Mental Health Day is celebrated on October 10th every year. This year’s theme is “mental health for all”.
You can read more about World Mental Health Day here, including the spectrum of mental health and mental illness in the tech field.
Why Is It Important to Recognize World Mental Health Day?
Every year, thousands of people mark the day to raise awareness of mental illness and its effect on people’s lives. It also helps to fight against the stigma that sadly can surround conversations around mental health.
Many of us have experienced a challenging 18 months, with various studies showing the impact of the pandemic on our mental health. For example, data from nationally representative surveys show that 11% of US adults reported symptoms of anxiety or depression between January and June 2019, which rose to a staggering 42% in December 2020. It's an important year to come together and mark this special day.
Who Can Celebrate World Mental Health Day?
Everyone! You don’t need to be personally affected by mental health to back this vital initiative. The more people that speak about World Mental Health Day, the bigger the voice! If you run or work within a company, celebrating this at work can also help to create a positive culture at work—one where people feel they can be open about mental health.
3 Things for Businesses to Remember When Celebrating World Mental Health Day
- Think beyond the day: Annual days are useful to raise awareness of certain issues, but your work shouldn’t begin and end on October 10th. It's important to have a more long-term view.
- Ask for staff input: Of course, mental health is a personal topic for some—by setting up personal polls or questionnaires, some people may feel more comfortable having their say on the activities they’d like to go ahead, or the policies that should be adapted or adopted.
- Set clear goals: Are you looking to raise money? Create a more inclusive culture? Revise company policies? Whatever your ambition(s), make sure you’re transparent with your employees or colleagues—and that you can stick to them!
Mental Health Awareness Day Facts
Read on for a selection of mental health facts from WHO:
- Mental, neurological and substance use disorders make up 10% of the global burden of disease and 30% of non-fatal disease burden.
- Around 1 in 5 of the world’s children and adolescents have a mental disorder.
- Depression is one of the leading causes of disability, affecting 264 million people.
How to Celebrate World Mental Health Day Online
Read on for a selection of ways you can celebrate World Mental Health Day online—the list is by no means exhaustive so if you have any other ideas, let us know over on Twitter!
1. Host a Watch Party
After many of us have been apart for so long, it’s never been more important to try to build a sense of community and togetherness. As part of your events, you could set up a talk, debate, or a company-wide meeting. You could ask staff if they’d like to get involved, or invite external guests to discuss or educate staff about mental health.
2. Create Info Packs
You could create leaflets and other online collateral to let your staff know about your upcoming events. This is a great opportunity to explain why World Mental Health Day is a cause your company is getting behind, as well as share stats and facts. You could also indicate who staff can speak to if they’d like help or advice.
Mental Health Awareness Flyer Templates
- Fully editable
- Photoshop template
- Modern design
3. Build a Microsite
To show your long-term commitment to mental health, you could set up a microsite dedicated to your business’ progress. Here you could include important information such as the amount of money raised so far, the events coming up, and FAQs.
Therapica - Mental Health & Psychologist Elementor Template Kit
- 12+ pre-built templates
- 100% responsive and mobile-friendly
- Published this year (2021)
4. Write a Blog Post
You could put out a company shout-out to see if anyone has personal experiences they’d feel comfortable sharing. If so, you could create an editorial calendar to schedule posts to go out daily in the lead up to World Mental Health Day. By telling real stories, you can help to foster an atmosphere of transparency and openness—one where people are more likely to feel comfortable being their true selves.
Flow - Creative Blog
- 9 homepage examples
- 4.32 out of 5 stars
- Fully responsive and retina ready
5. Create a Fundraiser
There are loads of global, national, and local mental health charities out there, so you could put it to the people and ask your employees which charity they’d like to support! Once you’ve picked one, all your online or physical events could raise money for the same cause. You could either dedicate a section of your current website or intranet to the fundraising totals, or you could use features within various WordPress templates like the below to show how much money has been raised so far.
Tamun - Fundraising WordPress Theme
- Flexible layout
- Social links
- SEO ready
6. Create Social Media Assets
Social media is a powerful tool for spreading the word, so you could create assets to tell the story of staff members, introduce stats, or explain why the day is important to your company. To whip up assets quickly, you could use a social media template like this one.
Panic Attack Negative Influence of Mass Media
- Cartoon designs to represent panic attacks, the negative influence of mass media, stress, and frustration
- Posts could be used to link to longer-form story-telling in blog posts
7. Shoot Videos
Social video generates 1200% more shares than text and image content combined. With stats like that, it’s no secret that creating video content will likely generate more eyeballs on your content. Plus, as viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch it in a video compared to 10% when reading it in text, video is a valuable opportunity for ensuring your message is remembered.
25 Instagram Stories
- Visual templates perfect for telling people-led stories
- Fully editable
- Photoshop PSD and JPG images included
8. Update Your Subscribers
Whether your company is large or small, making use of your internal and/or email database will help you raise awareness of your activities. This is another great way to keep subscribers updated with the amount of money raised so far and encourage them to get involved. If you already send out a newsletter, you could introduce a new section linked to World Mental Health Awareness Day—one that references mental health throughout the year.
Newsletter Template
- 8 custom pages
- 2 color variation
- Print-ready
9. Launch a Project and Review Policies
Annual days are a great way to reflect on current ways of doing things and see if policies can be adapted. Why not put the question to your staff and see in which ways the company could better its approach to mental health? By uniting on a campaign or project, it’s also easier to be able to celebrate milestones and/or report back on tangible results.
10. Conduct Your Own Research
One powerful way to understand mental health in your business is to carry out your own research. You could lead anonymous studies asking people about their mental health and the ways the business could improve its support. You could create infographics displaying your findings, which you could publish in an annual mental health report.
MENTAL HEALTH - PowerPoint Infographics Slides
- 35 mental health Elements slides
- 385 total slides
- Easily editable
Over to You!
We hope you find this guide for recognizing World Mental Health Day online useful. We’d love to know how you’re celebrating—let us know over on Twitter.
