October 10 is World Mental Health Day, initiated by the World Federation for Mental Health in 1992 and established by the World Health Organization. World Mental Health Day was created to raise public awareness of mental health issues, promote more open discussion of mental illness, and encourage people to invest in the prevention and treatment of mental illness. According to the World Health Organization, mental health refers to a state of well-being in which each person is able to recognize his or her own potential, adapt to the normal stresses of life, work productively and contribute to the community in which he or she lives. Currently (2009), mental health problems have seriously affected people’s normal lives. The latest figures released by WHO show that there are about 450 million people with mental health disorders worldwide, three-quarters of whom live in low- and middle-income countries. In most countries, less than 2% of health-care funding is spent on mental health, and each year one-third of schizophrenics, more than half of those suffering from depression, and three-quarters of those abusing alcohol suffer from mental disorders for which they have no access to simple, affordable treatment or care. In addition, worldwide, one person dies by suicide every 40 seconds. Mental health disorders have become a serious and costly global health problem, affecting people of all ages, cultures and socio-economic status. For this reason, the World Federation for Mental Health has designated the theme of World Mental Health Day 2009 as “Mental health in primary care: strengthening treatment and promoting mental health”, recognizing mental health as a key component of primary health care. The World Federation for Mental Health also called on Governments to change policies and practices so that hundreds of thousands of people in need receive the necessary mental health services and to further improve mental health care. On 10 October 2009, the 18th World Mental Health Day, the World Federation for Mental Health set this year’s campaign theme as “Mental health in primary care: strengthening treatment and promoting mental health”, emphasizing that mental health is an indispensable element in the overall health and well-being of every individual. The Ministry of Health of China organized the first large-scale activity on Mental Health Day in 2000 to promote mental health and popularize mental health knowledge. In the following years, with the rapid development of China’s economy and society, mental health and mental health work has been more and more widely valued by all walks of life, and the activities of World Mental Health Day have been more highly valued and actively carried out in China, and have become an important platform and brand for popularizing knowledge and spreading the concept of mental health.