Note from the Editor
“My health, My right!”
World Health Day is celebrated on April 7. Instituted by the World Health Organisation, the date marks the anniversary of when WHO was founded in 1948.1 It was instituted to focus on burning health issues and themes. This year, the theme is “My health, My right!” and it campaigns for equal rights for everyone to have access to quality health care, clean air, good nutrition, correct education, safe drinking water, respectable working and environmental conditions and freedom from discrimination.2
Living in a big city, I’ve heard and read so many complaints about air quality, water shortage and so on. But, as things seem to improve, we all move on with our fast paced lives and take some of these priceless things for granted. Things are not improving – air quality is deteriorating, water shortage persists despite us getting so much rainfall, awareness about good nutrition connected to mental health is poor, discrimination on the basis of a million parameters still exists. Pollution, scarcity of water, ravaging of the oceans all impact us on a daily basis because they lead to ill health, lesser resources and lesser food. Tempers rise, and physical and mental health breakdowns begin. As elections emerge in the top democracies, these valuable rights are forgotten by political leaders. As citizens, the right to health care is something most of us fail to voice and push authorities about, and countless individuals are facing a threat to their life due to this.
Access to health care is a fundamental right and connected to our mental health. We at Unhurry®️ are in one of the most important months of the year. As a digital mental health awareness arm of our foundation, World Health Day’s theme takes us back to WHY we started in 2021. Our mission as a mental health and sustainability platform has always been to publish science backed research and create awareness about the connection between mental health, physical wellbeing and the health of our planet. This April, we take you through researches that demonstrate this connection via articles that highlight overall health as the backbone of our life. As we celebrate neurodiversity in the month where we celebrate autism, we also despair over disturbing data on sustainability and longevity, to bring back attention to quality of life and how it is the simple things that can achieve this.
| Join us in this mission and read on all through April how we always have a choice and the power to stand up against what is not right. That one step that you take towards a sustainable living, or stand up for someone who has the right to clean drinking water (who doesn’t?) or refuse to accept discrimination, you are standing up for yourself. We have to live with our thoughts inside our body. Let’s make our thoughts compassionate towards others and the environment. And this World Health Day, let’s stand up and take responsibility for our own health. Our health is our right, but it is also our duty. References: WHO Inception World Health Day 2024 |
| Aradhna Chhachhi, Founder & Editor – Unhurry®️ |
| Best of the Month! |
| 1. Climate change triggers mental distress among teenagersWorsening human-induced climate change may have effects beyond the widely reported rising sea levels, higher temperatures, and impacts on food supply and migration — and may also extend to influencing mental distress among high schoolers in the United States. |
| 2. Raw fruit and veggies for better mental health outcomesFor the study, more than 400 young adults from New Zealand and the United States aged 18 to 25 were surveyed. This age group was chosen as young adults typically have the lowest fruit and vegetable consumption of all age groups and are at high risk for mental health disorders. |
| 3. Organizations benefit from hiring neurodivergent people – here’s howNew research shows that people with autism are less likely to be affected by the ‘bystander effect’ where neurotypical stay silent when they witness or experience misconduct, bad behaviour at the workplace. People with autism will speak up, pointing to the positive aspects of autism and how organizations can benefit from hiring more neurodivergent people. |
| 4. Research proves exercise reduces depressionThe British Journal of Sports Medicine has published a review that has encompassed 97 reviews, 1039 trials and 128,119 participants that has shown how physical activity has been extremely beneficial in improving symptoms of anxiety, distress and depression. |
| 5. Millennials More Aware About Need For SustainabilityThe younger generations are willing to put their money where their mouth is when it comes to sustainable living. In a study questioning both commitment to sustainable behaviors and willingness to trade better pay to work for a more sustainable-minded company, the surveyed young adults in Japan made their preferences clear. |