World Mental Health Day 2024: It’s OK to Ask “Are You OK?”

This article is written in recognition of World Mental Health Day, this Thursday, 10th October 2024. It couldn’t be more important to know how to look after your own mental health and support those around you with theirs. For 2024, the theme of World Mental Health Day is:

“It Is Time to Prioritise Mental Health in the Workplace”

How good are you at spotting low mental health in friends, family, or colleagues? Do any of the following sound like familiar observations?

“Devaj seems a bit out of sorts at the moment.”
“Sian wasn’t engaged in that meeting at all, she seemed really distracted.”
“Mark’s hungover again; that’s the third time in a fortnight!”
“Deng was really snappy this morning, she never used to be like that.”

Have you noticed anyone around you who seems preoccupied, withdrawn, irritable, showing signs of self-neglect, or generally just not themselves? They might, of course, just be having an off day, but if it happens more than once, how comfortable or easy would you find it to check in with them and see how they really are? Not every sign of mental ill health is visible, but don’t let the fear of saying the wrong thing stop you from asking a friend or colleague about their emotional wellbeing and how they’re feeling. It could just be the opening they need to talk about things.

Approaching Someone You’re Worried About

The Mental Health Foundation suggests how to talk to a friend or colleague who doesn’t seem quite themselves.

Be mindful that not everyone wants peers or managers to be aware of their health concerns, so if they have put their trust in you, it is important to maintain that trust.

The Mental Health Continuum

All of us are on a continuum with our mental health, and just like physical health, we can fluctuate from feeling great to alright to not feeling so good. To help us all better understand how our mental health can fluctuate, psychologists have come up with a model called the Mental Health Continuum. This helps us correctly view mental health as being fluid and changeable over time.

How to read the mental health continuum model

The horizontal axis is the best place for MEDICAL language: severe diagnosis to the left and no diagnosis to the right.
The vertical axis is the best place for SOCIAL language: maximum mental wellbeing at the top and minimum mental wellbeing at the bottom.

We all exist somewhere on these two axes, however, our position is far from fixed and we can move around these axes all the time, depending on our state of mental health.

When you are experiencing good mental health, with no mental health diagnosis, you can position yourself high up in the right-upper quadrant. However, it is possible to have positive mental health whilst living with a mental illness. For example, if someone has been diagnosed with depression and is coping well with the illness, they would position themselves high up on the left-upper quadrant. There is also no reason why they cannot move to the right-upper quadrant, as a diagnosis of depression is rarely permanent.

If someone has a diagnosed mental ill-health condition, and they are not going through a good patch, they will be in the lower-left quadrant, and will need to re-address coping mechanisms and should seek further medical help.

If someone without a diagnosed mental ill-health condition finds themselves going through an extended period of poor mental health where they are struggling with ongoing low mood, anxiety, and/or depression, they would be positioned in the lower-right quadrant. For anyone in this position, it is important that they seek further help by visiting their GP.

If you suffer with mental ill-health, or you are supporting someone who does, it is important to know that most mental health conditions can, and do, get better.

There are many lifestyle choices that we can make, and things we can do, to improve and better support our mental wellbeing. These include such things as: regular exercise, healthy nutrition, improving sleep quality and quantity, incorporating sunlight into your day, maintaining social connections, reducing the use of unhelpful coping habits and substances, and building personal resilience. We can all support our mental health by making an all-round effort with lifestyle choices.

Just like physical illness, you can recover from mental ill-health.

In Summary

Asking someone if they’re alright is a simple yet powerful act that can make a significant difference in their life. It’s OK—and important—to check in with those around us, even if we’re not sure what to say! Start by choosing a safe and private space, use open-ended questions like, “How have you been feeling lately?” and always show empathy, respect, and patience. Let them know that you’re there for them, that it’s OK to talk, and that seeking support is a sign of strength, not weakness.

Today, on World Mental Health Day, it’s a reminder for us all to break the silence around mental health and show others that they’re not alone. By reaching out, we can create an environment where people feel valued, heard, and supported—sometimes that’s all it takes to help someone take the first step toward healing.