Happy May, everyone. As we welcome in the next 31 days (and the first glimpses of summer), we also want to raise the flag about an important viral movement that’s happening. Thanks to some fantastic work from advocates across the country, Mental Health Month is generating big headlines and helping to bring important conversations to the forefront.
Interestingly enough; this month-long event began back in 1949, but often lacked the mainstream awareness that it deserved. But now, major outlets like The Atlanta Journal Constitution, CNBC and The Los Angeles Times are working to spread the word.
The AJC, in fact, shared some important statistics surrounding mental health in this country. In their headlining piece, it was referenced that as many as one in five U.S. adults live with a mental health issue. Half of all lifetime conditions begin by the age of 14, it mentioned, and 75 percent by age 24. The most important piece of data, though, was that those numbers can be curbed with early intervention.
The organization Mental Health America deserves the primary credit for this campaign. They’ve been behind it for seven decades now and offer ongoing resources to help people champion the cause. On their site, for example, there is a complete downloadable toolkit. In it, you can find shareable logos, press releases, banner images for websites, fact sheets, social media material and much more.
There is also a special hashtag for 2019, which emphasizes both mental and physical health. #4Mind4Body is what MHA wants followers to share, with the hope that those suffering will look to things like animal companionship, humor, recreation and exercise for help.
There are also new, bolder colors being incorporated into the campaign; in the hopes that the message will continue to stand out.
And to their credit, Mental Health America themselves have taken swift social media action since the first of the month. Their @MentalHealthAm handle shares regular wellness tips to offer inspiration and hope on people’s Twitter feeds.
For #MentalHealthMonth, we’re sharing daily wellness tips to care for your overall health – mind and body. Show us how you’re putting them into practice using the hashtag #4mind4body! pic.twitter.com/T4Y8mwZ7oz
— Mental Health America (@MentalHealthAm) May 1, 2019
As they simply and effectively stated on their site, “Mental health is essential to everyone’s overall health and well-being, and mental illnesses are common and treatable.”
Let’s hope it encourages more people to seek out help and does some broad de-stigmatizations around this very important issue.