05.01.19
May is National Mental Health Awareness Month.
Heather Hunley, Project Coordinator for LookUp & Kristina Johnson, Director of Community Initiatives for The Lutheran Foundation
If you’ve been following LookUp for awhile, by now you might know that 1 in 5 of us experiences a mental health condition in any given year, and 1 in 2 will struggle with it in our lifetime. So, it’s safe to say that a mental illness is affecting, will affect, or has affected you or someone you love. Even if you’ve escaped this probability, we all have ‘mental health.’ Just as we all have ‘physical health’ and strive to take care of our bodies, so we should also strive to take care of our minds. But where to begin? Knowledge is a great place to start, but we would argue that before we can gain and share our knowledge on mental health, we first have to get comfortable acknowledging the subject!
We want to ‘normalize’ talking about mental health – shame and stigma should have no role in these conversations. So, this May, we encourage you to spread the word that it’s Mental Health Awareness Month. Your support will help encourage others to start the conversations, to “seize the awkward” and to learn more about mental health. Together, we can silence the stigma on mental health.
3 Easy Ways to Support Mental Health Awareness Month
1. Add “May is National Mental Health Awareness Month” in green at the bottom of your email signature line. Think of the impact this simple act could do to spread the word!
2. Go green! Green is the awareness color for Mental Health Awareness Month. Consider intentionally wearing green on Mondays… who doesn’t need reminded of good mental health on a Monday?! Some organizations are passing out green ribbons. Wear it proudly all month long. Need to buy your own? They come in everything from pins to stickers. I’ve even seen Green Ribbon Temporary Tattoos – get your kids involved! Buy some for your family, colleagues, and neighbors.
3. Add a temporary profile picture, banner, or post to your social media accounts showing your support and acknowledgment of the month. Feel free to use the images we’ve provided below!
If you feel alone and need to talk, we’d love to start a chat online or text LOOKUP to 494949. If you live in Indiana and need help finding a behavioral health provider, visit Find Help or call (800) 284-8439.
Start the conversation. Silence the stigma.
