October 10 is World Mental Health Day and, like other cities around the globe, Hong Kong is marking it with events to raise awareness of mental health issues, offer support and remove the stigma that often surrounds mental ill health. And for good reason. The cumulative effects of the violent street protests that rocked Hong Kong in 2019 and the coronavirus pandemic have taken a toll. A 2020 study of more than 11,000 people by the University of Hong Kong’s department of psychiatry found 41 per cent reported high levels of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, symptoms, while 74 per cent reported moderate to severe levels of depression. Minal Mahtani, the founder of OCD & Anxiety Support Hong Kong (OCDAHK), a charity that works to improve the lives of people with mental health problems, is well aware of how severely the coronavirus pandemic has impacted the mental health of people in Hong Kong. “The number of enquiries we get a day has reached around 80 to 100 since the pandemic,” says Mahtani. “Pre-pandemic, it was between 10 and 12 enquiries. It has really increased eight-fold and we have people from all over Asia, as well as Europe and the United States, seeking help now, as people’s mental health is really deteriorating. “Our youth seem to be most affected – academic pressure, fears about catching Covid-19, uncertainty about the future.” Pandemic film explores the perils of isolation, social media OCDAHK recently launched “Unwind Your Mind 2021”, a campaign focusing on relaxation and self-care that features talks on the links between nutrition , lifestyle and mental health, support for teenagers, and yoga, meditation and art therapy sessions. “We are also encouraging people to take a photo of things that help them relax, such as spending time with friends, yoga, meditation, and share it on their social media, tagging us on our accounts,” Mahtani says. A key part of the campaign, says Mahtani, is the charity’s annual Green Ribbon drive, which runs until the end of the month. In Hong Kong, and much of Asia, many people don’t know how to handle family members with dementia – they are often banished from society and left in the care of domestic helpers Yanki Lee, co-founder of Hong Kong’s Enable Foundation “The Green Ribbon Campaign started in 2016, with just me and my best friend on the streets of Central, handing out home-made green ribbons,” says Mahtani. “People were intrigued but also hesitant to take the ribbon because they were scared to ‘catch’ a mental health disorder, scared of being judged and worried we were asking for money. “But in the past few years, more than 60 volunteers have handed out green ribbons … now people come up to me and say: ‘It’s good to see you again, you’re the green ribbon girl doing something for mental health.’” Event details here . Anxiety sufferer turned therapist helps Hongkongers fight mental disorders Yanki Lee is helping change the way society perceives people with dementia , a condition that results in the loss of cognitive functioning – thinking, remembering, and reasoning – to such an extent that it interferes with daily life. “We must first understand dementia before we can help those with it,” says Lee, co-founder of Hong Kong’s Enable Foundation, a non-profit social design agency. “In Hong Kong, and much of Asia, many people don’t know how to handle family members with dementia – they are often banished from society and left in the care of domestic helpers.” To help create a more inclusive society for dementia sufferers, Enable is running its first “OK Dementia Festival” until the end of October. Highlights of the festival include screenings of award-winning movies inspired by dementia – The Father (2020) , A Long Goodbye (2019) – events to engage the public in dementia stories of Hong Kong citizens, and workshops to create immersive tools that give people an idea of what it’s like to live with dementia. Festival details here . Charity Mind HK has partnered with Jardine Matheson Group’s Mindset Hong Kong to launch a campaign to destigmatise mental ill-health, “More Than a Label”. Former miner finds peace through meditation – now he’s helping others A recent Mind HK survey of 1,010 Hong Kong citizens, aged 18 or above, found that 23 per cent said they would not be willing to work with someone with a mental health problem, while 33 per cent said they would not be willing to live near someone with a mental health problem; 22 per cent said people with mental health problems should not be given any responsibility. Elisabeth Wong, Mind HK clinical adviser and a specialist in psychiatry, says stigma about mental health issues often comes from a lack of understanding or from fear. The first step to reducing it, she says, is increasing access to information. “Mind HK’s latest research shows 81.5 per cent of respondents say they have not accessed any mental health-related information,” says Wong. Mental health drive after study reveals scale of depression in Hong Kong “We hope to change these common perceptions and stereotypes through our campaign by sharing stories of resilience and recovery from our ambassadors and Hong Kong’s mental health advocates.” Part of the campaign involves an exhibition “More Than a Label: This is our story”, running from October 15 to 19 at The Wild Lot in Sheung Wan and featuring more than 30 stories of people’s mental health recovery journeys. More details here . Like what you read? Follow SCMP Lifestyle on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram . 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