Is it still World Mental Health Day?

Mental Health Week ends today in my country. I am very lucky to live in a country that is pretty accepting of mental health issues but even with it’s national recognition on media and such, I can tell you that I still continue to have stigma placed upon me from first hand experience. For instances, I was tricked into disclosing my health issues during a job interview and it was so obvious from what the lady said, wrote and acted after I did disclose my mental health problems that I wasn’t going to get the job. I stupidly tell people that I am feeling suicidal and they all go running to the other side – not wanting to have anything to do with me. Even mental health staff who are suppose to make a living out of helping those with mental illness in their recovery, I have heard them bitching about about certain clients, not providing the necessary assistance and even lying to them about the recovery activities available that day because they did not want to deal with certain clients. I have mixed thoughts on mental health week. On one hand, I do think that stigma should end but on the other hand I don’t know if it is all talk and no heartfelt action – designed to make it harder for us to commit suicide without addressing why we are commiting suicide in the first place.