Brighton, England, Oct 10, 2019 / 16:01 pm
On October 10, observed internationally as World Mental Health Day, Bishop Richard Moth of Arundel and Brighton said that society should work to remove the stigma that surrounds those seeking help for mental illness.
"As a society, we have yet to remove the lingering stigma which can be attached to mental ill health," he said in a statement. "We need to jettison the taboo around discussing the issue, and our discussions ought to be non-judgmental."
"In the interest of the common good, every citizen has a responsibility to promote the mental health of all the members of our society, including ourselves, and of our local communities," he added.
The World Health Organization has encouraged countries throughout the world to annually mark October 10 as World Mental Health Day as a time to raise awareness about mental health issues as well as about mental health resources and support.
The theme for this year's Mental Health day was suicide. According to the WHO, someone commits suicide every 40 seconds throughout the world, and so they encouraged people to take "40 seconds of action" in the form of either reaching out about personal mental health struggles, reaching out to a friend with health struggles, or raising awareness about mental health resources.