The month of May is Mental Health Awareness Month. By bringing awareness to mental health struggles, we hope to break the stigma and educate ourselves and others about practices that can help mental health and also advocate for policies that help those who are struggling with mental illness.
In 2020, 1 in 5 adults experienced a mental illness and 1 in 20 experienced a serious mental illness. The pandemic impacted us in many ways, and let’s be honest-it is not over. Not only were people questioning and worrying about their physical health, but mental health started to come to the forefront.
In 2020, 4.9 million people were not able to access mental health care, and 7.3 million experienced a delay or halt in receiving their prescriptions. We were no longer able to push aside or ignore our mental health during the pandemic, and now that we are in 2022, we should abandon it again just because we are out of lockdown.
So during this month, let's make a commitment to be available to others and ourselves to talk about mental illness and coming along one another. Whether that be going on a walk, meeting up for coffee, or helping someone find a therapist-we need to support another through the challenges of life and mental illness.
Emergency hotlines:
National Suicide Hotline- 1-800-25-TALK (8255)
Chestnut Health Crisis Line- 618-877-4420
It is important to start the conversation of mental health at a young age. Helping children learn coping and de escalation techniques , identifying their emotions and feeling comfortable enough to talk about it, can help them when they are older.
Book Recommendations
The Way I Feel by Janan Chan helps kids identify their emotions. By knowing how they are feeling, it can be easier for children to tell us what is going on.
Good Morning and Good Night Yoga by Mariam Gates are great books that go through different yoga that children can do to calm down and regulate when they are sad, anxious, and overexcited. Even when you are not going to bed or waking up, yoga
is a great way for kids to feel better mentally.
Mindfulness for Teens by Jennie Battistin gives exercises that only take 10 minutes to help teens tune into themselves and their emotions.
The Mindfulness Workbook For Anxiety by Tanya Peterson is an eight week plan that helps us manage anxiety, worry, and stress.
Grief Day by Day by Jan Warner helps those who are dealing with loss by providing simple practices or exercises that can recenter us.