Be Supportive Not Judgmental
It is important to remember that your choices on social media affect others greatly. Do not spend your time online being cruel to people. Spend it supporting others. It is not your job to judge others online, so do not take on that role. Your negativity can affect someone elses mental health in damaging ways. Use your platform wisely, and do not cyberbully.
Using Established Marathons For Mental Health Awareness
The London marathon takes up a charity each year to raise awareness and money for a particular and relevant issue.
In 2017, they chose mental health and joined hands with Heads Together a charity committed to the cause of improving knowledge of mental health in the general public.
The 700 people who represented Heads Together included the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge also who lent their support to the campaign.
A large number of people, running into thousands, were given blue headbands representing the charity and they wore it proudly while participating in it.
Combating Stigma In The Muslim Community
Needing assistance to face a setback like the loss of a job or difficulty managing daily stress or the breakup of a marriage, can and should be thought of in the same way. A knowledgable counselor or mental health therapist can help to identify unhealthy responses, suggest measures to cope with the stress of life challenges, and even improve communication skills that would prove useful into the future.
Unfortunately, in the Muslim community there are many misunderstandings and harmful attitudes related to mental health and mental illness. These create a stigma against those who are suffering and also discourage individuals and families from seeking the help they need.
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Mental Health Services Near You
If you arent sure how mental health services will work you, the staff members at Port St. Lucie Hospital in sunny Florida are here to guide you to the right resources. Here, we use evidence-based treatments to address emotional and behavioral concerns in order to help you feel like yourself again.
We are proud to promote mental health awareness as a way to make sure you feel supported throughout the entire course of your treatment. In your program, you will work with mental health professionals, your support system, and people just like you. After you have the skills you need to maintain your recovery, you will be able to spread mental health awareness and potentially help others who are in your current situation.
For more information, give our experts a call at or contact us through our confidential form and get a head start on your journey toward recovery today.
Icipate Or Volunteer In Awareness Events
National Mental Health Month begins on the first of May every year and is marked by increased local and online awareness events.
Through volunteering at, participating in, or even just sharing these events online, you can encourage others to get involved in learning more about mental health issues.
Whether during May or the rest of the year, use these events to get out there and directly address the need for more people to become aware of the realities of their mental health and that of those around them.
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Treatment Of Mental Health Disorders
The earlier in the trajectory of the illness that treatment is provided, the better the recovery outcome. There is a wide spectrum of levels of care to treat everything from mild or emerging mental distress to acute psychosis, and everything in between.
Outpatient treatment. Most individuals first seek help for a mental health challenge through their physician, who can then refer them to a mental health practitioner. Private practice mental healthcare will likely involve medication, psychotherapy, and support groups. However, there are higher levels of outpatient treatment, such as day treatment centers. These provide a more intensive treatment protocol, such as daily sessions at an outpatient treatment facility or hospital setting.
Residential treatment. When an individual needs more targeted and comprehensive treatment for a moderate to severe mental health disorder, the residential treatment setting offers a much higher level of care. Residential treatment provides the individual with an opportunity to detach from their regular daily lives for an extended period to focus entirely on getting better. Treatment elements include:
Our Understanding Of Mental Health Has Changed
Mental health has become somewhat of a buzzword over the past two years. But it isn’t all just talk.
More people are finding the professional help they need. Or at the very least, receiving support from their community.
A YouGov poll suggests that theres been a 13% increase in the number of American young adults who have sought counseling during the pandemic.
Switching to telehealth has made mental health resources easier to access and has removed some stigma-related barriers. Theres been such an increase in interest in therapy, that there is a shortage of counselors.
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Get Rid Of The Stigma
Considering mental health as a taboo topic can be hazardous for the company in the long run. Everyone at work must be aware that mental health is not a luxury but a prerequisite.
If your organizational culture is not used to discussing mental health topics, talk about the real-life consequences in the meetings, both with management staff and employees.
Tell them how an employee becomes less efficient when their mental condition is not steady, negatively impacting company earnings and productivity. Also, give them exact stats by emphasizing the number of people suffering from mental health disorders.
Additionally, companies need to ensure their employees get access to the best care facilities available to compete in the larger economy.
What mental health needs is more sunlight, more candor, more unashamed conversation. – Glenn Close
Take On A Career Path Where You Can Make A Positive Lasting Impact
If youre interested in pursuing a career in mental health, there are a number of fields that offer an opportunity to provide care to those afflicted. Consider a future in counseling, psychology, psychiatry, social work, or nursing.
If youre interested in becoming a mental health professional, start by considering where you are in your career and what specialty field youd like to join. Some important questions include: Do you have the requisite education to work in the field of mental health or psychotherapy? What are your salary expectations? What population do you hope to work with?
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Raising Awareness Of Depression
In the WHO European Region, depression affects around 40 million people, or 4.3% of the population. Depression limits a persons ability to fully function at work or school and to cope with daily life. At its worst, it can lead to suicide.
Depression is a primary cause of suicide deaths. This also leads to enormous economic losses in the European Union, the cost of lost productivity due to depression has been estimated at over 70 billion per year. Yet, 3 out of 4 people who suffer from depression do not receive adequate treatment.
WHO/Europe works to raise awareness of the consequences of depression and self-harm, to reduce stigma and discrimination, and to improve access to health care. It supports countries efforts to scale up services for depression in nonspecialized health-care settings as part of an integrated approach to chronic disease management. The 2017 World Health Day campaign Depression: Lets Talk also drew attention to this issue.
The European Mental Health Action Plan 20132020 encourages Member States to develop and implement evidence-based suicide prevention strategies that combine a universal approach with activities to protect vulnerable groups.
Raising Awareness Of Mental Health
May is Mental Health Awareness Month and this year, more than then ever, brands recognize the need to connect with people to normalize, support, educate and provide resources around mental health. To spotlight the importance of focusing on well-being, OUTFRONT partnered with Jay Shetty, author and purpose coach, to bring positive mantras to Americans during their daily commutes and activities for the month of May. This channel, Moments in Health, which is the most recent addition to the Moments content series, provides simple, attainable, and powerful statements. The quotations are small reminders that can help reduce anxiety or concerns that people may be experiencing in that moment. The content is purposely relevant to the environment in which it is seen and the background colors vary dependent on time of day . With over 60% of young adults reporting that the pandemic has had negative impact on their mental health, the subway environment, with an increasingly young ridership, makes it the perfect opportunity to reach this engaged demographic with the right messages.
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Take A Holistic Approach To Help Improve The Mental Wellbeing Of Your Family Friends And Yourself
Raising awareness is not only about teaching people how to identify mental illnesses. Its also about making a positive, lasting impact on their mental health.
You can do this by encouraging your loved ones to practice self-care or even by helping them focus on their physical health through exercise and healthy eating habits. Arranging park runs or hikes in the name of mental health awareness could benefit the cause dually.
Challenges In Utilizing Social Media For Health Promotion
Even though social media provides services, it has drawbacks also. Social media campaigns cannot be the sole solution for changing behaviors. Hence, promoting mental health is challenging in social media pages. Older adults and adolescents manage social media maturely. However, the concern is regarding younger adolescents’ social media usage.
People’s behavioral change achieved through mental health promotion remains unnoticed for a long time as the result is intangible this could be one important challenge of mental health promotion on social media.
The other challenge is the authenticity of data published in social media pages. Studies suggest that worldwide mental health promotion needs are to be coordinated and should be using an active platform to deliver knowledge. As many unverified and mystical data are being published in the web pages, the viewers are misled. Moreover, the readers have no filter to screen the data source’s credibility. To confirm data credibility, accurate appropriate evaluation methods are to be developed.
The other area of concern in using social media is that the information shared on social media is visible and available to anybody interested in it. This may make the respondents vulnerable and people may lose their privacy. The other barriers such as illiteracy can also cause hindrance in access to the proper data at the correct time.
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Explain The Concept Of Stress
Now, did you know stress also comes in different types? Yes, you heard that right.
So when we talk about spreading mental health awareness among employees, identifying the kind of stress they are going through makes the primary step. It is your responsibility to define your employees what type of stress they are experiencing.
There are healthy types of workplace stress, ones that boost motivation, thereby challenging people to be creative. However, unhealthy stress is what causes trouble for all. It can lead to depression and anxiety- the last two things we would want for our employees. That also results in high turnover rates.
Now, all you have to do is segregate the two stress types in front of your employees, explain them and ask them to identify the kind of stress bothering them.
Further, you can give them ideas on how to work on unhealthy stress and value the healthy one. This way, both you and them have clarity.
Ergo, awareness mission accomplished.
Start An Employee Resource Group
ERGs create a sense of belonging and psychological safety that are critical to employee retention and company culture. An ERG for caregivers, allies, and all employees across the mental health spectrum can connect employees with resources. Participation in the group should be voluntary and shouldnt pressure anyone to disclose information about their health. Address your awareness campaign to the whole company, and dont single anyone out.
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Donate Or Volunteer For A Mental Health Organization
One of the ways you can spread awareness is by getting a hands-on experience yourself. Various mental health organizations and facilities operate via donations. You can donate money to facilitate their infrastructure, newsletters, pamphlets, and other media outlets. In this way, you will not only serve the treatment of patients but also help spread awareness. These donations are also utilized in the arrangement of various workshops, conferences, and seminars that disseminate a lot of important and interesting information about mental health.
However, if you are on a low budget, you can simply become a volunteer. You will work with patients with various disorders like depression, dementia, or ADHD. Volunteers escort patients to a club room or center where they are encouraged to participate in various activities like needlework, board games, arts and crafts, etc. In addition, volunteers can also help with other day-to-day work like cooking, cleaning, and therapy assistance.
Volunteering for community mental health services will enhance your understanding of various disorders. This, in turn, will help you in spreading awareness. Once you gather enough experience and expertise, you can narrate your story in your community to help others with the illness.
Usage Of Different Modes Of Intervention Through Online Campaigns
All the online campaigns had used different modes of intervention. According to the objectives of the campaigns, different communication strategies were adopted. The first campaign #Iquittobacco was an online challenge where the viewers were asked to take up a challenge, wherein they could take up an initiative to quit tobacco by actively engaging in certain activities. As the campaign aimed at addressing a public health concern that is eradicating something deadly from the society, it needed a lot of effort. It reached more than 200 people and received more than a hundred impressions. The Buddy for Suicide Prevention campaign was an online competition which engaged the creative young minds. The online competition was successful, reaching more than 2000 people. Mostly, participants were young adults and received around 25 total entries under various categories of contests. The participants were enthusiastic to work toward the theme Action for suicide prevention. Through this, the mental health education page reached out to a large number of young people to raise awareness of suicide prevention in the society. The #Migrainethepainfultruth was an online campaign purely focused on eradicating the stigma toward migraine. The campaign reached more than 100 people, and around 6 people shared the posts. Among the three campaigns, the Buddy for Suicide Prevention created the highest impact among the public followed by the #Iquittobacco campaign.
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Weight Of Gold Raising Awareness Of Mental Health In Elite Athletes
Weight of Gold, a new documentary narrated by Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, addresses mental health concerns of Olympic athletes. The documentary, which aired on HBO Max in early August, discusses some of the thoughts going through the minds of athletes from a young age, thoughts about what it takes to reach the top of their sport, the pressure and exhilaration of reaching the Olympics, and what happens afterward. 1,2
Many of these athletes have been working toward the Olympics their entire life. In Weight of Gold athletes from many sports describe the depression and anxiety they face as they adjust to returning to normal life, along with their loss of athletic identity. While this documentary supplies an inside view into the emotions and mental health of these athletes, showing their humanity, the brevity of the 1-hour documentary leaves questions unanswered. Namely, what needs to change to improve mental health in athletes and reduce suicide rates?3
Nearly eight million high school students participate in sports and about 480,000 play collegiate sports. Less than 1% of those collegiate players become a professional or Olympic athlete. As highlighted in the documentary, mental health is a significant concern for elite athletes . Suicide is the second leading cause of death among all college students.4
Mental Illness Is Common
Millions of Americans are affected by mental illness each year. Whether they are personally affected or they have a loved one who is, mental health is important to everyone. It is estimated that around51.5 million, or 1 in 5 adults, are living with a mental illness in the United States in a given year. Even before COVID-19, mental health problems were increasing there was an increase of 1.5 million people experiencing mental health issues from 2017 to 2018. These numbers may actually be underestimated, considering that not everyone experiencing a mental health problem may seek treatment due to different factors like social stigma and treatment accessibility.
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What This Means For You
If you or someone you know is struggling with depression and isn’t sure where to get help, call SAMHSAs National Helpline, 1-800-662-HELP . It’s confidential, free, and runs 24-hour-a-day, 365-day-a-year. It’s available in English and Spanish. If you call this helpline, they can give you referrals to local treatment centers, support groups, and other organizations.
If you are having suicidal thoughts, dial 988 to contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline and connect with a trained counselor. If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.
How Can You Help Support Mental Health Month
- Connect with friends, family, and other individuals and strike-up some positive dialogue about mental health and the importance of ending the stigma.
- Learn more about mental health by utilizing the resources below or by talking to a mental health professional about what they do.
- Offer support to your loved ones when they open up to you about their struggles with mental illness.
- Tell you story! If you live with a mental illness, sharing your story can be a powerful way to support others who may be experiencing a similar situation.
Want to help fight the stigma and share this information? Download our Mental Health Month Fact Sheet.
Need to talk to a mental health professional? Call Centerstone at or visit centerstone.org/connect-with-us/ to get connected with care.
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