Belgrade, 10 October 2021 – This year the World Mental Health Day is even more important than ever, in circumstances that are still under the great influence of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. HRH Crown Princess Katherine’s Foundation is focusing on working on projects aimed to help and raise awareness of the importance of mental health.
“According to the data provided by World Health Organization, depression is today a leading cause of disability worldwide and is a major contributor to the overall global burden of disease. We are now in the second year of this tragic pandemic, that is having a severe impact on our usual ways of living. It is necessary that we, at all times, respect all anti-pandemic measures and be cautious, to help not only ourselves but also others. One of the effects of the pandemic is that we can not spend as much time with our loved ones as we were used to, we can not socialize and participate in events as much as we would like. Combined with the hectic lifestyle most people have, we are all affected emotionally, and this all leaves a negative impact on the mental health of a very large number of people
This is something that affects everybody, and no matter if you are a teenager or older, taking care of our mind is important at every stage of our lives and just as we help ourselves, so should we help others. We must find time to devote ourselves every day to something that makes us and the people that are close to us happy and relieved. Anyone can have a bad day, but it doesn’t mean that it should become a bad life. How we respond to the difficulties we are facing and taking care of our mental health is what is important. So, permit yourself to ask for help and to be there for those who need help, who feel sad and overwhelmed. Your physical and mental health are most valuable, and we have a responsibility to preserve life, which is a gift from God“, said HRH Crown Princess Katherine.
Her Highness would like to also share a text which is very appropriate for this day, that reminds us all how a small token of appreciation, such as a simple smile, can change someone’s life. A very good friend of Crown Princess Katherine, Mr. Edward Wayne Jr. Director of “The Bridge of Life”, shared this with Her Highness:
SIMPLE SMILE
One smile doesn’t cost anything, but it makes the one who receives it very rich and doesn’t make the giver poor.
No one is so rich that they do not need it.
No one is so miserable that they do not deserve it.
It only lasts a moment but the memory of it lasts forever.
If you ever meet someone that has forgotten how to smile, give that person one smile from your heart because no one needs it more than the person who can’t give it to another.