If there is only one thing Hurricane Ivan taught the good people of the Cayman Islands it is that mental health is just as important, if not more so, than physical health.
The storm of September last year brought more than just physical devastation to homes and businesses in the Cayman Islands, and especially on Grand Cayman.
It truly messed with the psyches of many of us.
Most of us knew we had the spirit and resolve to recover from such a storm.
But what many of us didn’t understand was the long-term effects of depression, anxiety and total sense of loss.
By nature the people of the Cayman Islands are a proud race.
To admit the need to cope with any type of mental issue seemed to be attached to a stigma.
It’s a small country and people talk.
For too long in the Cayman Islands and in much of the world just the mention of a problem with coping meant that the person had gone off the deep end.
And that’s just not so.
The blow dealt from Ivan was a major catastrophic event.
The human mind was not built to withstand the constant onslaught of catastrophe.
When something like an Ivan occurs, there is something wrong with us mentally if we aren’t having a problem dealing with certain aspects of the event.
Today has been set aside as World Mental Health Day and it will be marked in the Cayman Islands with a service at Heroes Square in George Town from noon until 3pm.
The day provides a unique opportunity for a wide variety of groups and organizations to raise awareness about mental health and publicize and recognize the work that continues all year round.
The aims of World Mental Health Day are to increase awareness that mental health concerns everyone; anyone can experience mental health problems; individuals, organizations and communities can take positive steps to promote mental health; and people with mental health problems have a valuable contribution to make to society.
We all have mental health needs, whether we have mental health problems or not.
This day is set aside to let people know when and how to get help and increase the awareness of positive steps for mental well being.
Mental health affects us all. And it is up to us all to make sure we do all we can to make sure we are totally OK.
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