National Mental Health Week is an annual event celebrated in Australia and over 100 countries in an effort to increase the public’s understanding of mental illness, encourage the reduction of stigma and discrimination against people living with mental illness, and promote positive mental health.
| Download: | Mental Health Week 2011 Calendar (PDF File - 530k) |
This year Mental Health Week runs from the 9th to 16th of October 2011. We know that in Australia, one in five people will experience some form of mental illness each year and that about 45% of all Australians will experience a mental illness at some stage in their lives. Mental health problems can effect anyone from the young to the elderly.
Mental health problems can impact on a number of areas in a person’s life, contributing to personal distress, social problems such as substance misuse, absenteeism from work, family and relationship troubles and physical illnesses. The personal, social and financial costs associated with mental health problems are distressing and effect all of us.
In the ACT, in Mental Health Week, we are celebrating the achievements of people who experience mental illness, the varying and creative ways people communicate their personal story of mental illness and their RECOVERY, and things that are important to good mental health like:
- staying connected to family, friends, and community,
- exercise,
- nutrition,
- positive relationships,
- having some control over one’s life and
- having a sense of purpose
This year’s calendar gives you a snap shot of what’s happening around the ACT for Mental Health Week 2011 – it’s one way of moving our community’s understanding of mental health forward.
In this section:
