Mental Health Matters: World Mental Health Day

October 10th is World Mental Health Day. This day is celebrated to raise awareness and support mental health issues. This day is an opportunity for providers to discuss their work and what they need to meet today’s needs. The biggest challenge post-pandemic has been the number of people who need assistance is much larger than the current professional staff available to help. Let’s take a look.

The 2024 Campaign

The theme for this year’s campaign is “Mental Health at Work.” The main focus is mental health and work environments:

“This World Mental Health Day, the World Health Organization WHO is uniting with partners to highlight the vital connection between mental health and work. Safe, healthy working environments can act as a protective factor for mental health.“

According to the Behavioral Health Workforce in 2023, the United States is experiencing a “mental health crisis”:

“The United States is experiencing a mental health crisis with increased levels of unmet behavioral health needs among people of all ages. The capacity of the behavioral health workforce to meet the demand is limited by supply and distribution challenges.”

There are two aspects to consider with the pent-up demand from the pandemic:

• Patient Barriers: the stigma of mental illness and costs are a barrier for some patients
• Provider barriers: besides available professionals, reimbursement issues, limited scope of practices, and clinical burnout

Does Faith Help Our Mental Health?

A 2022 article related to faith and mental health indicates:

“For too long, there has been a divide between faith and mental health — with mental illness being viewed as a moral or spiritual failing and spirituality being viewed as unscientific. We’ve spent too much time in silos, where instead, we could be finding strength and healing through partnership. Faith and mental health are not antithetical to each other; in fact, they are complementary.”

What Can I Do to Find God’s Peace?

One of the most incredible aspects of faith is the peace we get from God. The uncertainty with the pandemic was a major stressor across the United States and a major contributor to the mental health crisis. We came back to a very different world where unemployment or underemployment situations, persistent health issues, and a very challenging political environment exacerbated the situation. As a man of faith, I have always leaned on prayer and my faith in God to reset myself when the world becomes too much to handle:

• Prayer is always a way to slow the world down a bit. Sometimes, even just taking a mental break and just sitting with God is enough to clear your head.
• If there are specific items that keep popping into your head, these may be issues that God is asking you to look at a little deeper. When I have tried to clear my mind in the past, my mind just kept on going. I always felt those thoughts were noise, but not all were. God will use any means at any time to speak with you. The thought I felt was noise was actually from God asking me to look deeper at the thought or issue. God will use ANY means at ANY time to interact and talk to us.
• Nature walks or going to a place that you consider peaceful may also help you clear your head and reset yourself.
• Many people find peace in a church. Sitting in silent adoration is another way to clear your mind and find peace.
• Engage in a service activity. There is no better way to clear your mind and heart than by serving others.

How have you handled stressful situations? Do you have an experience that you would like to share? Comments are always welcome and encouraged.

God Bless