World Mental Health Day 2022: Theme, history, significance and more

World Mental Health Day 2022: World Mental Health Day is observed on October 10 every year.  The day was first observed by World Federation for Mental Health in 1992. The objective behind observing World Mental Health Day is to raise awareness of mental health issues and to mobilise efforts in support of mental health.

"The Day provides an opportunity for all stakeholders working on mental health issues to talk about their work, and what more needs to be done to make mental health care a reality for people worldwide," the World Health Organization (WHO) official website read.

World Mental Health Day 2022 Theme

The theme of World Mental Health Day this year is--'Make mental health & well-being for all a global priority'.

Before the pandemic, an estimated one in eight people globally were living with a mental disorder. The pandemic created a global crisis for mental health.

The WHO website read, “Estimates put the rise in both anxiety and depressive disorders at more than 25% during the first year of the pandemic. At the same time, mental health services have been severely disrupted and the treatment gap for mental health conditions has widened.”

World Mental Health Day aims at increasing awareness about the mental well- being, and is an opportunity for people with mental health conditions to collectively recognise progress in this field and to be vocal about what needs to be done to ensure mental health & well-being becoming a global priority for all, the WHO mentions.

“We envision a world in which mental health is valued, promoted and protected; where everyone has an equal opportunity to enjoy mental health and to exercise their human rights; and where everyone can access the mental health care they need.” the WHO website reads.

World Mental Health Day 2022 History

The World Federation for Mental Health, a non-governmental organisation founded in 1948 in London, first celebrated World Mental Health Day in 1992.

World Mental Health Day 2022 Quotes 

“There is hope, even when your brain tells you there isn’t.” – John Green

“Mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of but stigma and bias shame us all”.- Bill Clinton

"Just because you don’t understand it doesn’t mean it isn’t so." — Lemony Snicket

"Even if we don’t have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there." — Stephen Chbosky

"Your mental health is everything – prioritize it. Make the time like your life depends on it, because it does." — Mel Robbins