This week is Mental Health Week.
According to the National Mental Health Commission, the aim of Mental Health Week is to “promote social and emotional wellbeing to the community, encouraging people to maximise their health potential, enhancing the coping capacity of communities, families, individuals and increasing mental health recovery.”
Mental Health Week kicked off yesterday and ends on Saturday, however each state and territory has its own theme, events and dates for how long its Mental Health Week lasts and hold events long after the Week has ended.
Despite the varying dates of the start and end of Mental Health Week in each state and territory, World Mental Health Day is a marked day for global mental health awareness and advocacy and is always held on October 10, which happens to be today.
Today’s Mental Health Week events include but are not limited to: the opening of an art exhibition in Alice Springs, a mental health concert in Broken Hill, community talks on mental fitness in Adelaide, a mental health workshop on the Gold Coast, a carers workshop in Hobart, a community mental health expo in Melbourne, a poetry reading session in Canberra and a Befriend Sing-A-Long in Fremantle.
Image via mentalhealthweekact.org.