How to Celebrate Mental Health Awareness Month

There are currently around 50 Million Americans with at least one mental health diagnosis, including substance use disorder. With mental health disorders prevalent among our population, removing stigma around mental health is critical to getting necessary care into the hands of those who need it. This May, for Mental Health Awareness Month, we’re focusing on how Kyros can help remove stigma and other barriers to accessible care. With this, we’re also looking at how to do this on an individual level. As we are all aware, a huge piece of social impact is individual and community-level contributions to a larger cause. That’s why in this post, we’re providing you with 5 actionable ways you can celebrate Mental Health

What is Mental Health, and Why Does it Matter?

Mental Health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act, and helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices (SAMHSA). When discussing mental health disorders, they can range in severity, and affect an individual’s mood, behavior and overall health.

Wondering why it’s important? You have most likely already been involved in the conversation around mental health in some capacity!

Five Ways You Can Celebrate Mental Health Awareness Month

Talk About It

One of the most effective ways to raise awareness about an issue is to talk about it. Start conversations with your close friends and family, or bring the topic to a larger stage and find local events where there are keynote speakers discussing mental health.

Attend an Event

As mentioned, start locally! Find an event like NamiCon hosted here in Minnesota for access to mental health resources and key discussions around raising awareness, and increasing access to mental health services on a community level. You can also attend events like NamiCon online if you’re not located in Minnesota.

Focus on Your Own Mental Health

Check in with yourself – have you been sticking to your daily practices of caring for yourself? When life gets busy it can be easy to lose our self care practices in the noise. Have an honest check in and see if there are any ways you can better tend to your mental health. Whether it’s meeting with a therapist, journaling or carving out some time in your work week for solitude. Keeping these routines and tools fresh can help you create a healthy life that you love.

Volunteer

Support a mental health organization by donating some of your time! Organizations like NAMI have a variety of volunteer opportunities, both virtual and in-person. You can check out some of the opportunities here. You can also use platforms like Hands On Twin Cities to search up volunteer opportunities near you!

See How Your Company Can Get Involved

Most corporations are eager to get involved with social awareness issues, including mental health. Inquire about your company participating this month, are they already planning to participate? If so, are they attending an event? Donating to a mental health organization? If not, see if they’d like to! You can raise funds, create a post on social media and so much more. One way we’re raising awareness this month is through this blog series!

There are Countless Ways to Get Involved

There are countless ways to participate in mental health awareness month

Good news – the opportunities listed above are just the start! There are countless ways to participate in mental health awareness month. Join into conversations with friends and family, check out local events or simply devote some time to your own mental wellness this month. Starting with the list above, we’ll be releasing resources all month long in celebration of mental health awareness month. Stay tuned to get involved, or visit the link below to participate in the conversation now!