Why is May the most wonderful time of year? Because it’s Mental Health Awareness Month! It’s 31 glorious days when it feels like the whole world is talking about Mental Health and we just can’t get enough! Every day is a great day to educate, advocate, and celebrate whole person wellness. So where to begin? The facts.
Mental Health is a component of everyone’s overall health; it represents your mindset, emotional wellbeing, stress response and ability to function on a daily basis. Your own Mental Health should be monitored and maintained just like your physical health; it’s a life-long commitment of setting goals, checking-in, self-care, and growth! Any number of things can affect one’s Mental Health both positively and negatively, short-term and long-term. Mental illnesses, disorders, or conditions tend to negatively impact or impair one’s Mental Health; NAMI lists a dozen recognized disorders and common “thoughts, behaviors, symptoms and conditions [that] are directly related.” Undiagnosed and untreated conditions can have devastating affects on the individuals experiencing them, on their loved ones, and even in the wider community. What’s stopping us from treating these conditions like we would others? The myths, fear, stigma, and general lack of awareness. This is why Mental Health Awareness month is so important; to address the issues and remove the roadblocks from Mental Health.
This May we will do a deeper dive into some of the more common reasons that keep people from getting the help that they need and living a more full life. Along with that we want to acknowledge and recognize the things that can help and benefit everyone. To start with we invite you to think about and answer the following two questions:
What is negatively impacting my Mental Health?
What is something positive, however small, that I can do for myself this month?
Start thinking and when you’re comfortable, start doing! We’ll be checking in and sharing more information on both ends throughout May. It is our hope that you’ll see that you are #NotAlone and come to feel as excited about #MentalHealthForAll as we are!