Mental health is wealth, especially during Mental Health Awareness Month, which is celebrated in May and discussing this, recognising the symptoms and where to find help and support is something we want to highlight this month. So many people ignore the health of their mind and focus more on their physical health through nutrition and exercise but what do you do to benefit your mental health?
What is Mental Health Awareness Month
Each year millions of people face the reality of living with a mental illness. During May, globally many different organisations join the national movement to raise awareness about mental health. The idea is to fight stigma, provide support, educate the public and advocate for policies that support people with mental illness and their families. If your leg was broken you would go to see a doctor immediately but when your mind is broken people choose to either ignore the symptoms or try to become a specialist themselves. The stigma around mental health and treatment has long existed, even though this has started to change. Still, people hesitate to seek help or even talk about it with their loved ones for fear of being judged and facing unnecessary backlash. Simple logic dictates that if we are hurt anywhere, we must seek treatment to get better. A more universal day is also celebrated by the WHO on October 10, and it is known as World Mental Health Day.
Types of Mental Health Disorder
When the stresses and strains of everyday life start getting too much, it’s important to always remember to reach out and ask for help.
- Anxiety disorders, including panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and phobias.
- Depression, bipolar disorder, and other mood disorders.
- Eating disorders.
- Personality disorders.
- Post-traumatic stress disorder.
- Psychotic disorders, including schizophrenia.
How To Observe Mental Health Awareness Month
- Take care of yourself, life is a roller coaster, some problems are solvable but others bring challenges and that’s when you need to seek the right treatment. There is no need to suffer in silence, why not get an A if treatment allows you to live your life without pain and suffering, you don’t need to settle for a B- anymore. Don’t shy away from talking about what’s plaguing you because it might not be your fault, no matter how much society tells you otherwise.
- Take care of your loved ones, check-up on your friends and family. Sometimes all people need is a shoulder to cry on and an ear to listen. Even if you can’t help, sometimes just knowing someone is there can ease someone’s suffering, the smallest gestures can go the longest way.
- Talk about your mental health with your peers, your children, your friends and parents, the more normalised these conversations become, the less the sigma will be that is associated with mental health disorders. The social stigma surrounding mental health has undoubtedly led to countless delays in treatment and research on the matter.
- Break a cycle, sometimes mental health disorders can be genetic but many times they can be created by environmental factors which means they don’t have to continue to pass down through your family. Try to break the cycle, seek treatment that enables you not to make generational mistakes, take care of your mind for a better tomorrow for the coming generations.
Why We Love Mental Health Awareness May
It’s a celebration of mental health. The only way to enjoy life to the fullest and experience all its wonders is if we take care of ourselves, mentally and physically.
It’s a celebration of changing attitudes, we have come a long way from the times when mental patients were treated as outcasts, not only by their loved ones but also by the medical professionals.
Times have started changing and more and more people are changing their outlook on mental illnesses.
