World Mental Health Day was first celebrated in 1992 and is marked every year on 10 October. It is an international day for global mental health education, awareness and advocacy against social stigma. This blog post highlights a selection of recent Springer Nature journal articles, books, collections, clinical study registrations and blog posts chosen by our publishers to mark this occasion.
All the featured content is related to the Sustainable Development Goals, specifically SDG 3: "Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages", and the related key target 3.4: “By 2030, reduce by one third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being.”
Highlights from Springer Nature journals
Research published in the World Journal of Pediatrics found that participation in social and physical activities early in life may be crucial for the mental well-being of children with a chronic physical condition.
Trials has also published the protocol of a clinical trial of a relaxation and guided imagery intervention for elementary school children.
A supplement published in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health revealed the findings from the National Adolescent Mental Health Surveys (NAMHS) in Kenya, Indonesia, and Vietnam, focusing on the factors influencing adolescent mental health such as adverse childhood experiences, bullying victimisation and perpetration, social support and mental health service use.
As part of the collection 'Social Determinants of Mental Health' in Conflict and Health journal, an article and blog post described which resources young Afro-Colombian people living in the city of Quibdó on Colombia’s Pacific Coast make use of to improve and support their emotional wellbeing.
Earlier this year the Editorial Board of Biology of Sex Differences celebrated Sex Differences in Health Awareness Day by writing an Editorial exploring the complex relationship between sex differences and the brain, focusing on the vital role of sex differences research in neuroscience and mental health.
An exploratory qualitative study published in International Journal for Equity in Health looked at the manifestations of mental distress in migrant and refugee women in Ecuador and Panama, the causes, the mental health support available to them, and proposals for interventions.
A comment in BMC Global and Public Health discussed the Mind the Gap consortium which aims to scale up access to culturally adapted mental health treatments for minority populations.
An article in the German Journal of Exercise and Sport Research explores how prolonged crises in professional sports teams can lead to significant psychological strain, underscoring the importance of mental health support and crisis management training in high-pressure environments.
Research published in Environmental Health showed that exposure to mold and the use of solid fuels may be associated with a higher prevalence of depression and anxiety among older adults in China.
Books
Recent books published by Springer Nature have examined a wide range of topics from female mental health in 21st century media to the ‘crisis of masculinity’ in young men, from teacher burnout and mental health to campus cultures of mental illness stigma.
The intersection of mental health and digital technology and the use of mental health apps and the interplay between the genetic, biological, and social determinants of mental health have also been explored.
Collections calling for submissions
BMC Women's Health welcomes submissions to their collection on genetics of women's mental health, while BMC Artificial Intelligence invites submissions on AI in mental health monitoring.
There are also collections in the British Dental Journal on the psychological challenges faced by dental professionals, and in BMC Oral Health on the relationship between mental health and oral health.
BMC Psychiatry invites submissions on mood disorders in adolescents, BMC Psychology on bullying, and the Journal of Eating Disorders on refining eating disorder-PTSD links.
ISRCTN: the UK’s Clinical Study Registry
Mental and behavioural disorders are the single largest condition category of clinical trials registered on the ISRCTN registry. Highlights from 2025 include the SPECTRUM study of behavioural sleep improvement programmes for young adults with depression and anxiety, the GREENGAGE study of nature-based activities for people with mental ill-health, and a study of virtual reality-assisted cognitive behavioral therapy for conflict-affected adolescents in Gaza.
Springer Nature Research Communities
Recent blog posts on the Springer Nature Research Communities have covered a wide range of studies of mental health interventions, including arts-based programs for mental health stigma and adverse childhood experiences, mobile apps for young people, self-help online programs for Ukrainian refugees, nature-based therapy, and even synthesized body odors for social anxiety.
There have also been blog posts about how LGBTQ+ young people are disproportionately affected by mental health issues, and about the health disparities faced by trans, non-binary, and gender diverse (TGD) people in the UK.
Conclusion
The UK Mental Health Foundation suggests celebrating World Mental Health Day with a Tea & Talk to raise money for mental health whilst getting together and talking about mental health.