Making a Difference for Mental Health

Mental Health Awareness Month 2023 is coming to a close, and hopefully we have all learned some new information about supporting those close to us with mental health issues. As I mentioned earlier this month, 1 in 5 Americans suffers with a mental health concern. This means, keeping mental health issues on our radar all year long can help many people.

Checking up on your friends and loved ones, and their mental health, is something that you can do all year long. So is advocating for mental health issues. If something comes up in conversation that shows ignorance about mental health, you can help to correct this information with facts.

According to Unite for Change,

Looking at mental health advocacy, this can be exemplified in many ways like sharing educational resources with friends and family. Advocacy can also include signing petitions, writing blog posts, creating programs, and asking government representatives to make mental health services more accessible. Additionally, mental health advocacy means participating in open conversations about mental health and helping to end the stigma.

If you have a mental health condition yourself, make sure that you are taking good care of yourself. It is important to make sure that you are attending therapy as needed, asking for help, and making sure that you are taking time for self-care.

Mental Health Awareness Month 2023

This year's theme for Mental Health Awareness Month was "More than Enough" and it is important to remember that, if you have a mental health condition, you are still More Than Enough. You don't have to change anything, do anything, or measure up to an impossible set of standards. You are More Than Enough already, just as you are.

Having a mental health condition doesn't make you secondary to anyone else, and we need to work to end stigma and discrimination in society around mental health issues. People can still be capable and live full lives with a mental illness. A mental health diagnosis isn't a death sentence.

You are enough

People with mental health issues feel like we are not enough for a variety of reasons. It can have to do with our own mental health, the way we have been treated in the past, or the way that society views mental health in general.

According to NAMI,

We are not born feeling inadequate. Life experiences and emotions create that sense within us in a variety of ways. For example, when we were little, and we felt afraid or anxious, our mind told us something was wrong with us, not our environment. A child's mind, not yet rational, concludes, “There must be something wrong with me if I feel so bad." That's why children who were abused or neglected grow up to be adults who carry so much shame. They likely spent years telling themselves: "I must be bad if I'm being treated badly.”

If you are feeling like you aren't enough, it is something worth trying to unpack in therapy. These feelings can cause you to have negative self-talk and limiting beliefs, both of which can be damaging to your self-concept and make you feel negative about your life overall.

When you can work through the causes of these negative thoughts, you can come to realize how untrue they are in your life overall. This can greatly help your mental health, and help you to feel more whole within yourself.

The better your thoughts about yourself, and the more positive your self-talk is, the more likely you are likely to feel like you are enough. This will help you to better handle negative comments from others in society as well. You will be able to either walk away, or to stand up for yourself, depending on the circumstances.

Remember, you are always enough, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise!