1700 Mumbaikars cycle to raise awareness for mental health
4thedition of Aditya Birla Health Insurance Ride to Mpower aims to #StampOutStigma around mental health
Mumbai, 22 March, 2019: Mpower, a pioneer in Indian mental healthcare from The Aditya Birla Education Trust, today returned with its fourth edition of Aditya Birla Health Insurance Ride to Mpower, a cycle ride to create awareness and stamp out the stigma associated with mental health illnesses. In this edition, Mpower aims to bring the #StampOutStigma in our society today by bringing together Mumbaikars and encourage them to increase conversations around mental health.
The cycle ride saw more than 1700 cyclists and fitness champions lend their support towards this critical cause as they cycled through the streets of Mumbai. These Mumbaikars pledged to become champions of mental health. Aditya Birla Health Insurance Ride to Mpower marks Mpower's most successful awareness initiatives. Over the last four editions, it strived to educate individuals on the correlation between physical and mental health toward an individual’s overall well-being.
Flagged off by Mrs. Neerja Birla, Founder & Chairperson, Mpower and Mr. Ashish Sanghi, Trustee, Aditya Birla Education Trust, the 27km ride began from Dome@NSCI Worli to Asian Heart Institute, 15km ride began from Dome@NSCI Worli to Shivaji Park and 7km rides began from Dome@NSCI Worli to JK Kapur Chowk. The Movement saw avid participation of people from all walks of life including social and mental health activists, business leaders, inspirational youth icons and school children.
One in six people in India suffer from a serious mental disorder, and yet mental health remains a taboo in most Indian households, schools, colleges and offices. This taboo is what prevents real progress on the mental health front, primarily by attaching stigma to any and all mental health related concerns. The uncaring attitude, the ignorant labels, the tone-deaf conversations, the endless stigma and the lack of mental healthcare need to change. These #StampOutStigma through Aditya Birla Health Insurance Ride to Mpower will bring awareness and encourage conversation around mental health, as well as engage people to support, diagnose, prevent and seek help for mental health concerns.
Being a fitness aficionado herself, through this event, Mrs. Neerja Birla aims to bring together all fitness aficionados to pledge their support towards mental health. Commenting on this initiative - Ride to Mpower, Mrs. Neerja Birla, Founder and Chairperson, Mpower, said, “Mpower – The Movement is all about creating a paradigm shift in the way people think of mental health. Everyone knows that it's important and normal to take care of one's physical health and Mpower endeavours to make people aware that it is just as important and normal to take care of one's mental health. The cycle ride is our way of reaching out to the community, in order to highlight that a healthy mind is as important as a healthy body. This is the fourth cycle ride we've done and as participation increases, I hope that it will encourage more people to embrace a more holistic approach to wellness and self-care.”
Anita Lobo, Head - Events, Mpower said, “We at Mpower are proud to successfully execute Ride to Mpower 2019 and see this initiative as a small step towards creating awareness and are delighted to see Mumbaikars extending their support. Wizcraft has pulled off such an impeccable event, right from the route planning to the execution. Dome Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. has provided us with the on-ground solutions for the post-event interaction with the participants, which helped us spread awareness about mental health awareness. We’d like to thank Mumbai Police & Mumbai Traffic Police who helped us in planning the ride in detail. Ride to Mpower is in its 4th year now and encourages everyone to stay physically and mentally fit. People are now becoming more open about the subject and slowly, but steadily the taboo is being lifted. Through Mpower - The Movement, we aim to stamp out the stigma around mental health and sensitize people to be alert and speak up whenever necessary. We look forward to more such events in the future.”
The brainchild of Mrs. Neerja Birla, Mpower was launched three years ago, and has been at the forefront to affect change and proactively champion the cause of mental health, create awareness, advocate prevention and provide services with a professional, holistic and multi-disciplinary approach in the country.
Stamp Out the Stigma around mental illnesses with Mpower - The Foundation
A World Health Organisation study reports that over 6% of the Indian population suffers from a serious mental disorder and do not have the right kind of help to facilitate recovery, which may lead to extreme situations like suicide. In India, it is difficult to change perceptions related to mental health. The challenge lies in repairing the inborn conditioning which perceives mental illnesses as evil. We do not talk about mental health.
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