32 inspirational quotes for World Mental Health Day

(Photo: Shutterstock)(Photo: Shutterstock)
(Photo: Shutterstock)

10 October marks World Mental Health Day, a day designed to encourage authorities to take action and create lasting change within mental health care.

World Mental Health Day aims to raise awareness in the global community around mental health issues, "with a unifying voice through collaboration with various partners".

That’s according to the World Federation for Mental Health, the organisation behind the day, which was celebrated for the first time in 1992.

This year, we've all been staying inside more, with our day-to-day routines disrupted, and many of us have felt the negative effects on our mental health.

To keep you feeling positive, here are 32 inspirational and mindful quotes:

“When you have a dream, you’ve got to grab it and never let go.” - Carol Burnett

“Maybe your favourite actor, or a guy in a band, or whoever, there are people who feel that exact same thing and have made it through that. I would say more than anything, you’re not alone in it.” - Pete Wentz

“You are beautiful because you let yourself feel, and that is a brave thing indeed." - Shinji Moon

“For a long time I used to think that soldiers don"t go through that. You know? Like, strong people in life, the bravest, the most courageous people, they don't go through that, they just get on with it… and that’s not the case.” - Stormzy

“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” - Mahatma Gandhi

“You don't always need a plan. Sometimes you just need to breathe, trust, let go, and see what happens.” - Mandy Hale

“Try to be a rainbow in someone else’s cloud.” - Maya Angelou

“We're all in it together. All pain is temporary, and the thing is with anxiety, and why it’s such a hard thing for people who don’t have it to understand.” - Shawn Mendes

“You can't control everything. Sometimes you just need to relax and have faith that things will work out. Let go a little and just let life happen." - Kody Keplinger

“Regardless of who you are or what you do for a living or where you come from, it doesn’t discriminate, we all kind of go through it.” - Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson

People are often afraid to admit difficulties, but I don't believe that there should be a struggle with anything that’s the truth. If you were a guy, you used to have to be really masculine, but now expressing emotion is accepted and respected.” - Zayn Malik

“Don’t be pushed around by the fears in your mind. Be led by the dreams in your heart.” - Roy T Bennett

“Let us make our future now, and let us make our dreams tomorrow’s reality.” - Malala Yousafzai

“What mental health needs is more sunlight, more candour, and more unashamed conversation.” - Glenn Close

“I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.” - Jimmy Dean

“Anything that’s human is mentionable, and anything that is mentionable can be more manageable. When we can talk about our feelings, they become less overwhelming, less upsetting, and less scary.” - Fred Rogers

"Your illness is not your identity. Your chemistry is not your character." - Pastor Rick Warren

“If we start being honest about our pain, our anger, and our shortcomings instead of pretending they don't exist, then maybe we’ll leave the world a better place than we found it.” - Russell Wilson

“Keep your face always toward the sunshine, and shadows will fall behind you” - Walt Whitman

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” - Winston Churchill

“Mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of, but stigma and bias shame us all.” - Bill Clinton

"Start by doing what’s necessary, then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible." - Saint Francis of Assisi

“What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals” - Zig Ziglar

“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” - CS Lewis

"Your present circumstances don’t determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start." - Nido Qubein

"This too shall pass." - Persian adage

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” - Martin Luther King Jr.

“A problem is a chance for you to do your best.” - Duke Ellington

“Believe you can and you're halfway there.” - Theodore Roosevelt

"Let today be the day you stop living within the confines of how others define or judge you." - Steve Maraboli

“Never bend your head. Always hold it high. Look the world straight in the eye” - Helen Keller

“We take care of our dental health. We don’t take care of our mental health … I think the solution to making the world better is if we would just be healthy, mentally.” - Howie Mandel

How to get support

Reach out for support now if you’re considering seriously harming yourself: there are plenty of people to talk to.

Seek immediate help by calling 999 or going straight to A&E if you have seriously harmed yourself, or you don’t feel that you can keep yourself safe right now.

Call your GP and ask for an emergency appointment

Call NHS 111 (England) or NHS Direct (Wales) for out-of-hours to help

Contact your mental health crisis team if you have one

A version of this article originally appeared on our sister title, the Scotsman

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