Welcome May! Along with the start of a new month comes the national celebration of Mental Health Awareness Month. May is dedicated to the awareness and advocacy of mental health and wellbeing. Mental Health Awareness Month began in 1949 and was started by the National Association for Mental Health, today known as the Mental Health America organization. Although all months during the year are essential for maintaining mental health awareness, May is special for reaching individuals and organizations that could help continue the mission of learning about and valuing mental health awareness.
According to the American Counseling Association (ACA), 1 out of 5 people have experienced mental health issues within their lifetime. What about those other four people? It could be possible that they might know that one person who is struggling with mental health issues. That one person could be their mother, childhood friend, sister-in-law, classmate, or grandpa. As many mental health providers can understand, that one person could potentially have four individuals that directly or indirectly affect their mental and emotional wellbeing. That one person could also have the ability to raise awareness around their journey and how they sought professional help.
This conversation of awareness and positive mobility of destigmatizing ones’ mental health journey can start with just one person. That dialogue continues here as we would like to share how one person can begin changing the stigma of seeking mental health services, using new and healthy language of describing mental health issues, and using effective tools for building a healthier life.
Fostering positive attitudes towards seeking mental health help – dismantling the stigma
- This begins with simply starting the conversation about mental health and how that impacts you or your community
- For individuals who are or have faced mental health issues, think about how sharing your journey could plant a seed of hope or courage for someone interested in seeking help themselves
- For individuals who know someone who is open about their mental health journey, think about how that impact has influenced you and what it would look like for you to become an advocate
Implementing People-First Language
- The language and words we use to have these conversations is also important
- Seeking help or educating ourselves in how to talk about mental health that invites respectful curiosity while being mindful of what we can learn
- People-First Language is simply that! When talking about mental health and spreading mental health awareness use the word ‘individual’ or ‘person’ before saying the specific issue
- This establishes that the person is not their issue while taking away the label and stigma
- For example, “That person has experienced living with OCD” versus “that OCD person”
- Changing this little detail of how we speak about mental health issues is a way of mindfully conversing and reversing the stigma around it
Compassionately processing and healing through treatment
- For individuals suffering from OCD, this looks like using Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)
- These tools of treatment allow the individual to face any unwanted intrusive thoughts while refraining from using compulsions to ease feelings of anxiety
- Introducing mindfulness, self-compassion, and empathy by the therapist and client are key in such an extensive process
- If you are someone seeking help for OCD, don’t forget how courageous and strong you are to become a healthier you!
Discovering healthy individualized coping skills
- What are coping skills? These are activities, tools, or exercises that help individuals regulate and manage thoughts or feelings, like stress or anxiety.
- Finding personalized coping strategies is key when working through mental health issues because they are special to you and encourages the practice of them
- Coping skills can include intentional journaling, physical exercise: yoga, long walks, swimming, or biking, reading something for fun, getting creative and crafty with drawing, painting, or designing, positive self-talk, meditation, listening to music… the possibilities are endless as you start to discover something that best helps you!