Today, October 10, 2025, is World Mental Health Day. The theme for this year’s awareness day, as set by the World Federation of Mental Health, is ‘Access to services – mental health in catastrophes and emergencies.’ The theme has been chosen to highlight how important it is for people to be able to protect their mental health at times of global instability, when the news is continually dominated by often traumatic reports of crises and conflicts.
Even those who do not live in a war-torn country, or have not suffered personal loss through conflict, can feel overwhelmed by the constant bombardment of bad news, especially when social media and modern technology mean it is there at our fingertips all of the time. The Mental Health Foundation has a series of free, downloadable advice and tips for anyone who is suffering the negative impact of ‘overwhelm’.
Employers take note
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is urging employers to go beyond awareness and take practical steps to prevent work-related stress for their teams.
In 2023 – 2024, around half of all self-reported work-related ill health cases in Great Britain were linked to stress, depression or anxiety, resulting in increased absence, reduced productivity and higher staff turnover.
HSE is asking employers to take meaningful steps to support the wellbeing of their teams, through initiatives such as reviewing whether workloads are realistic and deadlines achievable and improving communication and feedback. HSE offers a Talking Toolkit to support conversations, a template for completing stress risk assessments and a free training module for managers to improve understanding of work-related stress and provide practical advice on how to minimise the impact of stress on workers and organisations.
