World Mental Health Day 2022 | Inequalities for people with learning disabilities

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What is World Mental Health Day?

World Mental Health Day, recognised on the 10^th of October every year, is the global celebration of mental health support, education and services. The goal is to raise awareness for global mental health issues and increase education on the topic.

Mental health has been defined by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as “a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realise their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community”.

The World Mental Health Day theme for this year is ‘Make mental health and wellbeing for all a global priority’ set by the World Federation for Mental Health. 1 in 4 people will experience some kind of mental health problem during their lifetime and many more will see friends and family members who are affected.

Mental health is an integral component of health and well-being. It is a basic human right everyone should have. Therefore, encouraging people to open-up about their mental health helps tackle the stigma that limits people’s willingness to seek help.

Mental health inequalities

Unfortunately, there are inequalities in mental health which means that some people are more likely to have poor mental health and less likely to get effective support. Importantly, people living with a learning disability are more likely to experience poor mental health. This does not mean that a learning disability is a mental health problem, but instead the two conditions can co-occur. For example, the Mental Health Foundation found that 54% of people with a learning disability have a mental health problem, and children with learning disabilities are four and a half times more likely to experience mental health problems than children without a learning disability.

Reasons for this include genetics increasing vulnerability to mental health problems, higher incidences of negative life events, access to fewer resources and coping skills, and the impact of other people’s negative attitudes. Furthermore, mental health problems among individuals with a learning disability are often overlooked, underdiagnosed, and left untreated because many people lack the understanding and awareness in this area. In fact, people often mistakenly attribute symptoms of mental health problems to the person’s learning disability.

The Green Light Toolkit is a recognised tool for checking how well mental health services support people with a learning disability and autism, so that improvements can be made accordingly. The toolkit makes sure that reasonable adjustments are in place including assessments, accessible information, personal care, physical health, and equalities. This initiative is an important step in the right direction for ensuring everyone has access to mainstream mental health services.

How to get involved with World Mental Health Day

We are more knowledgeable about mental health today, but there is still a lot more that we can do to improve. Each of us can contribute to ensure that people living with mental health issues can live better lives and with dignity. For example, some ways you can get involved and celebrate World Mental Health Day include sharing your own mental health experiences, sparking conversations on social media, checking in with your own mental health, practising self-care, expressing daily gratitude, and reaching out to loved ones.