Connecting people to mental and emotional health resources around the world!
Johannesburg, South Africa (20 March 2022) – As the COVID-19 pandemic and other traumas continue to impact mental health, Facebook has added resources from mental health experts to their Emotional Health Resource Center.
Now you can get free resources to take care of your emotional health or find help for a friend. Meta has partnered with experts to make finding information on social media easier, and it’s all available within the Facebook App.
Experts agree that COVID-19 has exacerbated mental health challenges around the world, and the repercussions will be felt for years to come.
“We’ve been working with leading authorities around the world — like NAMI, Kids Help Phone, and It’s OK to Talk — to invest in the critical areas of mental health support, including handling financial stress, parenting support, coping with loss and grief, managing substance use and taking care of overall emotional health.”
Last year, the social media platform introduced Emotional Health, a centralized resource centre on the Facebook app with tips and information from leading experts, which has grown into the most incredible app within the app.
The resource is available globally, with locally relevant information from mental health officials.
“Over time, we will build on the features and topic areas based on the guidance of our global and national partners.”
Across the Meta apps, the team is rolling out a number of features to connect people to expert support and resources including:
- The World Health Organization Digital Stress Management Guide, which provides easy-to-follow techniques designed to reduce stress and promote mental well-being, now available on the WHO Health Alert chatbot on WhatsApp
- A sticker pack available on Messenger designed with the WHO to facilitate conversations around mental health that can lead to support
- Suicide and self-harm prevention through our expanded partnership with Crisis Text Line to provide Crisis Support Over Messenger
- New mental well-being guides on Instagram, including one created in collaboration with The Jed Foundation to help teens understand how their time online may impact their emotional well-being, and one from the Korea Suicide Prevention Center that provides guidance on how men can talk about mental health without shame.
The cornerstone of supporting people’s emotional health is the research to help us all understand areas like healthy social connections, loneliness and mental health.
Facebook and The Aspen Institute have collaborated to advance the collective understanding of loneliness, social connection, technology and how they all intersect. This effort has brought together more than 60 cross-sector experts — from academia, health, technology, nonprofit and government — to share research and identify gaps to inform future research and potential solutions.
“Making information about mental health more accessible is extremely important. At the World Health Organization, we are pleased to be collaborating with Facebook in support of that goal for this year’s World Mental Health Day,” said Gabriella Stern, WHO Director of Communications.
You can access the Emotional Health Resource Center by clicking here or by clicking the “emotional health” icon in your menu bar.
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