mental health awareness month

Mental Health Awareness Month 2024

Nathan Smith6 Comments

One of my favorite months of the year is upon us – it’s Mental Health Awareness Month! Held every May in the United States, Mental Health Awareness Month is a month of raising awareness and sharing resources about mental health. It’s a time to educate the public and shed a light on the mental health challenges people face every single day. Together, we are shrinking the stigma surrounding mental illness, suicide and mental health challenges. To start this month off, I wanted to highlight a few campaigns to follow. Regardless of how you get involved, I hope each one of us can raise awareness and hope when it comes to mental health!

Mental Health America – “Where to Start”

Mental Health America, the organization that started Mental Health Awareness Month in 1949, is using the theme of “Where to Start” this year. Per Wikipedia:

“The Where to Start theme was chosen for 2024, with the goal “For anyone struggling with the pressure of today’s world, feeling alone, or wondering if they can feel better, this is Where to Start.”

MHA is also offering a mental health toolkit for people who would like to get more involved in the conversation, but don’t quite know how to start (there is also a Spanish version on their website).

One of the most overwhelming aspects of mental health challenges is getting help. Mental health is a wide-ranging and varied topic, interconnected to many other areas of our lives. A lot of people don’t know where to even begin to get help and because of that, they never do. This campaign serves as a reminder that there are places to go when you don’t know where to go. There’s always a place to start, and this is a good way of doing so.

National Alliance on Mental Illness – Take the Moment”

The National Alliance on Mental Illness has titled their Mental Health Awareness Month campaign “Take The Moment.” This campaign encourages people to start conversations and have open dialogues. By sharing the vast amount of resources offered, people can find what works for them when it comes to mental wellness.

We are each on our own journey, and finding what works for each individual drives this point home. When our dialogue about mental health is rooted in empathy and understanding, it’s easier to see a path forward.

SAMHSA – Mental Health Awareness Month Toolkit

SAMHSA, or the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, is an organization that works to highlight the connections between substance abuse and mental health. This month, they have prepared a mental health toolkit as a sort of “one-stop shop” to share information and resources about mental health. This includes social media messages, graphics, and best practices for having healthy discussions about mental health. You can find the toolkit on SAMHSA’s website, which actions and suggestions for posts throughout the entire month.

This month on My Brain’s Not Broken

As I like to do every May, this blog will be a place for sharing resources and information about mental health. In the 7+ years of writing this blog, I’ve seen a lot of growth and improvement in how we talk about mental health. But with everything going on in the world today, it’s more important than ever to check in. Check in with ourselves and our loved ones. Check in with our communities and our local leaders. See who is making mental health a priority, and who might need a gentle push in that direction.

Whether we acknowledge it or not, mental health impacts us all. Mental Health Awareness Month is a time to shine a spotlight on this fact, to learn to live in a happy and healthy way. Sending positive thoughts and vibes to everyone as we continue to shrink the stigma!

Closing Out Mental Health Awareness Month 2023

Nathan Smith2 Comments

As we reach the end of Mental Health Awareness Month, I’d like to reflect a little bit. I often reflect on the state of mental health; I try to figure out how we, as a society, view mental health and wellness. In the year since the last Mental Health Awareness Month, have we improved things? What does it mean to spread awareness, and are we doing a good enough job? There are many conclusions this month has led me to, but what I want to focus on today are next steps. How do we go beyond mental health awareness? How can we build a better world, focused on wellness and healing?

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Getting The Help We Need

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Wouldn’t it be nice if mental health was simple? If we could do one or two things, and that would solve our problems? I’d love that. One of the aspects of mental illness I dislike the most is how persistent it is. I’ll be going on about my day, trying to get tasks done, and then feel a flash of anxiety. Or I will get sad for no reason at all, as if the world is closing in on me. I know I’m not alone in feeling this way; for millions of people, it is a daily challenge. Some days I’m up to the challenge; other days…not so much. But regardless of what I’m able to do in that moment, I’ve learned something over the years that has brought peace and understanding in hard times. We can try our best to look after mental health, but it’s not only up to us. And more than that, it’s a myth that it ever was.

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What Does It Mean to Shrink the Stigma?

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During Mental Health Awareness Month, there’s a lot of talk about shrinking the stigma. While it might look different than it used to, the stigma surrounding mental health is alive and well. While many would agree on how important it is to shrink the stigma, it’s easier said than done. Shrinking the stigma isn’t only in our words; it’s in our actions. So, what does it actually look like to shrink the stigma, and how can we contribute?

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By the Numbers: The State of Mental Health in the US in 2023

Nathan Smith2 Comments

Every year during Mental Health Awareness Month, I find statistics and data that help show the state of mental health in the United States. Mental illness and mental health challenges are extremely prevalent in today’s world, and diving into the data is one of the clearest ways to show that. The more we can rely on the numbers, the sooner we can stop relying on assumptions and anecdotal evidence to talk about mental health. Here’s the most recent data I could find about mental health in 2023.

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Mental Health Awareness Month 2023

Nathan Smith3 Comments

May is a special one on My Brain’s Not Broken – it’s Mental Health Awareness Month! Since 1949, May has been Mental Health Awareness Month in the United States. This is a month dedicated to sharing stories and resources to raise mental health awareness. Various mental health organizations have themes and focuses for Mental Health Awareness Month. To start this month off, I wanted to highlight a few campaigns to keep an eye on. Regardless of how you do it, I hope this is a great month for raising awareness and hope for many!

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Closing Out Mental Health Awareness Month 2022

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Every year when I reach the end of Mental Health Awareness Month, I try to reflect. I reflect on mental health in the state of my community, my city and my country, and I wonder if anything has happened this month that could lead to substantial change. This year, I have to say I’m a little discouraged. I know I’m usually a little more positive about mental health awareness, but after this month it seems like we have so much of it backwards. That’s why, to close out this month, I want to share why talking about mental health – the right way – is more important now than ever.

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Learning How To Take Time

Nathan Smith10 Comments

I’ll be honest, friends: I’m tired. Physically, mentally, emotionally, I am exhausted. And I know I’ve said it before on this blog (and I’m sure I’ll say it again), but the world can really wear me down. It seems like every single week, something happens in the world that makes me sad, angry, upset or hopeless. And that’s without introducing anything from own life into the mix! While I haven’t really figured out how to handle these new challenges, I know what it starts with: taking time for what I need.

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Why It Needs To Be Okay Not To Be Okay

Nathan Smith2 Comments

It today’s digital world, lots of thoughts and feelings can be boiled down to a slogan or a hashtag, something that will grab a person and make them want to learn more or take action. When it comes to mental health there are a lot different ideas and slogans, but one of the most popular is the phrase it’s okay not to be okay. Usually that’s said in a way that is reassuring or a catalyst for change, but today I also want to talk about how this can help pave the way for a new normal surrounding mental health. We’re building a future where it must be okay not to be okay and if I’m being honest, we don’t have any other choice.

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Mental Health Resources to Know And Share During Mental Health Awareness Month

Nathan Smith3 Comments

Today’s post will be a little shorter than usual, but there’s a good reason for that. Sharing our experiences around mental health is crucial to shrinking the stigma and improving the way we treat mental health in our communities, but it’s also important to share resources. Mental health resources exist in many more places than we might think, and by connecting with these organizations and sharing them with others, we can make sure others have the resources they need, when they need them.

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