Paint with Carl Mosher at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Oct 17, at the Warsaw Community Public Library. $25 is due at advance registration and payable at WCPL’s Reference Desk. Photo provided by Robin Fosnaugh.

By Melissa Chapman, Cataloging Supervisor
Warsaw Community Public Library

World Mental Health Day is celebrated annually Oct. 10. The theme for 2022 is “make mental health and well-being for all a global priority.”

World Mental Health Day seeks to raise awareness about mental illness. This day aims to educate the population and mobilize efforts in support of mental health. Mental health includes a person’s emotional, psychological and social well-being. Improving mental health has become increasingly important in recent decades as an estimated 350 million people worldwide suffer from depression.

What can we do on this day? Volunteer your time at an organization that works with children’s mental health. Depression is a growing concern among children.

You can also watch a movie that touches on mental health issues or particular disorders. Some suggestions include “Silver Linings Playbook,” which is a film that focuses on bipolar disorder. “A Beautiful Mind” is about a brilliant mathematician on the brink of international acclaim when he starts to exhibit signs of schizophrenia. “As Good As It Gets” is about an obsessive-compulsive novelist with a mean mouth who experiences an act of kindness. “Still Alice” is about a renowned linguistics professor who starts to forget words.

Why not also read a book? “The Bell Jar” by Sylvia Plath is a realistic novel about a woman battling mental illness and societal pressures. “Fight Club” by Chuck Palahniuk is a contemporary work of literary fiction that contends with masculinity, materialism, consumer culture and modern disillusionment. “Running With Scissors” by Augusten Burroughs is a true story of a boy whose delusional mother gives him away to be raised by her eccentric psychiatrist. “Fifty-Four Things Wrong With Gwendolyn Rogers” by Caela Carter is a children’s book about a chronically frustrated 11-year-old girl named Gwendolyn Rogers who comes to realize she has an undiagnosed mental health issue and tries every way possible to get control of her emotions.

We can all play a part in increasing awareness and envisioning a world where everyone has an equal opportunity to enjoy good mental health and to exercise their human rights.