Mental Health Awareness Month
05/03/2023 12:29:26 PM
May 1-May 31 is Mental Health Awareness Month. This month, we can focus on reducing the stigma of having behavioral or emotional challenges. At some point in our lives, either we or someone we love and care for will struggle with their mental health and will need support and interventions to help overcome these challenges.
In 2022, 10% of adults experienced depression and 11% experienced moderate to severe anxiety. In children and teens, 9.8% have ADHD, 9.4% have anxiety, 8.9% have behavior disorders, and 4.4% have depression. Many of these problems cluster together, as a child may have both ADHD, anxiety, and behavior problems. In 2022, 19.9 % of Americans experienced a mental illness or a significant mental health challenge. The statistics do not tell, however, the whole story. There are individuals and families who have multiple stressors and are even more at risk. These include those who have experienced disadvantage or have had adverse life events.
What can we do to support ourselves, support those we care for, and help those who do not have a voice to speak for themselves?
We can be aware of our own strengths and challenges as well as our values for our “best lives”. If and when we become aware that we are struggling with life tasks and/or good self-care, we can reach out to those we trust and get advice on “next steps”. Those trusted people might be our physicians, our rabbis, our friends, and family.
When our dear ones are struggling, we can share our love and concern for their well-being, and let them know we care for them and are worried that they seem to be struggling, whether it be with substances, food, or reactions that are not helpful.
We can help those who are not able to speak for themselves and help them access good care by donating ourselves, whether it be our time or our resources. We can join in supporting our Temple Sinai members in time of pain and suffering by serving on Kesher, or we can reach out to those who are struggling with poverty and other life circumstances by helping Family Promise or serve on the Hineini Committee which helps those with disabilities be able to participate in our community. We can also donate our time and financial support to organizations that help those who struggle with mental illness such as NAMI (National Alliance for the Mentally ILL), the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA), Mental Health of America of Georgia, (MHA-Ga) and/or Jewish Family & Career Services.
There are many things that we can do during this Mental Health Awareness Month of May and by doing care for ourselves and others, we all can build our own and others’ resilience.
