While every day is a good opportunity to talk about mental health, awareness days are some of the best chances to have a conversation. Yesterday was World Mental Health Day, the latest opportunity to shrink the stigma and share our stories around mental health and mental health challenges. Every year brings a different theme that focuses on various aspects of mental health. This year, the theme for World Mental Health Day is “Make Mental Health & Well-Being for All A Global Priority.” Here’s why that matters, and why it’s important that mental health is a global priority.
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Why It Needs To Be Okay Not To Be Okay
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.
Continue readingEvery Day Is a Good Day to Talk About Mental Health
I’ll be honest – I write and talk about a mental health a lot, but I know conversations around mental health aren’t always easy. They can be awkward or uncomfortable, and sometimes it might feel like they don’t go anywhere. But even though those interactions might be hard or feel pointless, there’s nothing further from the truth. Mental health matters every single day, and here’s why.
Continue readingA Look at Mental Health in the United States During Mental Health Awareness Month 2022
Last year, I took a deep dive into some statistics and data surrounding mental health and the LGBTQIA+ community during Pride Month. I think that diving into data and statistics is one of the clearest ways to make mental health visible in our society. The more we use anecdotal evidence or rely on assumptions, the harder it is to have a conversation around mental health and mental illness. That being said, I tried to find the most recent data I could to figure out the state of mental health in the United States.
Continue readingHow Do You Talk About Mental Health?
During Mental Health Awareness Month, there is a lot of attention focused on knowing what mental health challenges look like. It makes sense – mental illness and mental health disorders have become much more prevalent in the past few decades and the pandemic has only amplified that, so awareness is extremely important. But there are so many things to be aware of when it comes to mental health that not everyone might know. That’s why today, I want to reflect on how we talk about mental health society and how that impacts our health and wellness.
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May means one thing on My Brain’s Not Broken – it’s time to talk about mental health awareness! May is Mental Health Awareness Month in the United States, which means it’s a time where there is added emphasis on how we talk about mental health in this country. And before I dive into that topic (which I’ll revisit later this month), I want to talk about the concept of mental health awareness. There’s a big misconception that the only people who have mental health are people who experience mental illness. And this month, I’m here to tell you that spreading mental health awareness is important because we ALL have mental health.
Continue readingMental Health Awareness Month 2022
The month of May means one thing on My Brain’s Not Broken – it’s Mental Health Awareness Month! This is a time every year (held each May in the United States) where time and space is reserved to raise awareness for mental health. Even though we can advocate year-round, this month is a time for specific conversations about shrinking the mental health stigma and advocating for the policies and services that people need. Different organizations have various themes for Mental Health Awareness Month, and this month is a good time to come together and advocate for what we ALL need to maintain mental wellness. Here are a few campaigns to keep an eye on this month!
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When I first started My Brain’s Not Broken, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to say. I was a few months into my first full-time job, and I wanted to share what it was like to be an adult who was trying to figure out depression and anxiety while also trying to figure out post-grad life. In the years since, this blog has transformed into a place where I’ve learned so much about mental health and wellness. And that’s why, for the past few months, I’ve been trying to think of ways that I could build this blog as a space that’s bigger than my own mental health journey – and that’s what I want to talk to you about today.
Continue readingMental Health Breakdown: What is Compartmentalization?
Language is one of the most important aspects of mental wellness, and how we talk about mental health can go a long way toward shrinking the mental health stigma. This recurring feature on the blog will tackle different words and phrases that I use when talking about my mental health. I know that other people use this language as well, and defining some of the more relatable terms can help others understand what it means, instead of having to explain it constantly. Today, I’ll be talking about compartmentalization.
Continue readingWhy We Can’t Move On From Our Mental Health
When it comes to the pandemic, there are many lenses through which we can view this pandemic. There are many perspectives on what it’s like to experience such a thing, and those thoughts and feelings are based on so many things – age, sex, gender, race, religion, location, etc. Today, I want to talk about the pandemic from a mental health perspective.
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My Brain's Not Broken 