The Mental Health Minute
April 2019 Volume 4
Help Support Mental Health Awareness Month in May
Next month Mental Health of America is celebrating the 70th anniversary of Mental Health Month. Green is the color of mental health awareness and May is Mental Health Month. In honor of this important awareness campaign, MHIT members are issuing a GREEN OUT challenge! Show your support for mental health by having a GREEN OUT day on your campus sometime in May! Spread mental health awareness messages while wearing green, take photos, post them on Twitter and be sure to tag @CFISDCounseling. Let’s show our CFISD community that we stand united in our efforts to end stigma and embrace mental health!
Mental Health Month Resources
Did you know that Mental Health America (MHA) founded May is Mental Health Month back in 1949? That means May 2019 marks MHA’s 70th year celebrating Mental Health Month! The purpose of Mental Health Month is to raise awareness about mental health conditions and the importance of good mental health for everyone. Mental health is essential to everyone’s overall health and well-being, and mental illnesses are common and treatable. So much of what we do physically impacts us mentally – it’s important to pay attention to both your physical health and your mental health, which can help you achieve overall wellness and set you on a path to recovery. This year’s theme #4Mind4Body. For more information on Mental Health Month, visit the website below.
Children's Mental Health Awareness Day
Talking About Mental Health
Talking about mental health is not always easy. Oftentimes people dealing with mental health problems have difficulty translating their pain and experiences into words. Starting to bridge the gap in how we talk about mental health is vitally important. Efforts such as enhancing people's feelings vocabulary and helping them rate their pain can be effective ways to start mental health conversations. #keeptalkingaboutmentalhealth
Help for Parents: Tips for Talking About Mental Health
"Without mental health there can be no true physical health." (World Health Organization)
Poor physical health can lead to mental health problems and vice versa, be sure to include healthy habits in your daily routine!
Coping Skills Toolkit: 4/7/8 Breathing
Coping Skills Toolkit: Grounding Exercises
Coping Skills Toolkit: Star Breathing
You Matter!
Keep Talking About Mental Health!
End the Stigma...Mental Health Matters!
BREAKING THE STIGMA!
People experiencing mental health conditions often face rejection, bullying and even discrimination. This can make their journey to recovery longer and more difficult. Stigma is when someone, or you yourself, views you in a negative way because you have a mental health condition. Some people describe stigma as shame that can be felt as a judgement from someone else or a feeling that is internal, something that confuses feeling bad with being bad. It does not matter what other people think, what matters is how you feel!
Navigating life with a mental health condition can be tough, and the isolation, blame and secrecy that is often encouraged by stigma can create huge challenges. Learning how to cope with stigma and how to avoid and address stigma are important for all of us. Reaching out to a mental health professional is the first step. You are not alone and there is a wealth of support available for you, if you will take that first step!