World Mental Health Day: Looking After Mummy & Daddy

Today is World Mental Health Day 2021 – Mental health is such a relevant topic for us as parents

If you’re finding yourself struggling with your mental health, it’s important to know that you’re not alone and you won’t be judged. Many parents don’t speak out for fear that they’ll be deemed ‘not coping’, or told to ‘just get on with it’ – this really isn’t the case. World Mental Health Day is a fabulous opportunity to get the message out there and raise awareness.

Statistics show that approximately 68% of women and 57% of men with mental health problems are parents – this shows that we’re more likely, as parents, to need extra mental health support making the topic all the more relevant to us. Parents who commit suicide are more likely to have a child who does the same – this is why it is so vital for us to reach out.

As the World Federation For Mental Health states, there is NO health without mental health. We’d get a broken leg cast, we’d get a migraine treated, so why should mental health be any different? This is even more paramount as mummies and daddies with children who need us at our best!

What is World Mental Health Day?

Organised by the World Federation For Mental Health, World Mental Health Day is an awareness day aimed at;

• Educating the public about mental health
• Raising awareness of mental health
• Advocating against residual social stigmas surrounding mental health problems

This year’s specific agenda is 'Mental Health in an Unequal World', which we think is pretty relevant to the parenting community given the inequalities that parents often experience  which can lead to stress, depression and a myriad of other mental health conditions - from being disadvantaged in the workplace, to struggling to access childcare, the list is endless and it can be seriously detrimental to our mental health!