May is Mental Health Awareness Month — a time to spread awareness, become educated, advocate for those who are struggling and share resources. But there’s more to it than that. The month is all about breaking the silence surrounding mental health, sharing stories and finding support and healing in community.
“Mental Health Awareness Month is about more than awareness. It’s about showing up for one another,” states the National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI) website, nami.org. “By sharing our lived experiences, learning from each other’s experiences, and building strong community connections, we can challenge stigma and create spaces where people are supported, understood, and find healing.”
The stigma surrounding mental health is decreasing. We now know how important it is to take care of mental health. We also know that there is no shame in struggling with mental health issues and it is important to seek help when needed.
One way to share experiences about mental health struggles is by submitting a video or a written story on NAMI’s website. By sharing experiences, others may realize that they are not facing these challenges alone. Sharing experiences with friends and family members can also be helpful. Chances are some of them have had their own mental health struggles.
Mental health plays a large role in our overall well-being. “When you’re mentally healthy, you are able to enjoy your life and the people in it, feel good about yourself, keep up good relationships, and deal with stress. It’s normal for your mental health to shift over time – we all face difficult situations in our lives. Creating positive habits is a great way to support your mental health when you’re doing well and helps you build skills to use if you do face symptoms of a mental health condition,” it states on Mental Health America’s website, mhanational.org.
So how can we increase and maintain good mental health? According to MHA, making good choices about food and nutrition, getting regular exercise, maintaining healthy sleep habits, building our coping skills, having a positive support system of family members and friends, and practicing stress management can all help.
Other ways to practice self-care could be taking a few minutes each day to practice meditation and mindfulness, reading a good book, listening to music, taking a walk and going outside every day – no matter the weather. Whatever self-care means to us, we can begin today to put it into place.
For some great information about mental health and sharing experiences, check out NAMI and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention on Facebook.
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