Minority Mental Health Awareness Month: Helping Yourself

Mental health is important for everyone, but minorities often face greater mental health challenges than other groups. That’s why Minority Mental Health Awareness Month is so important to recognize.

It’s in July, but you don’t have to wait until July to be aware of your mental health. You can take just a few steps to make sure you’re in a good mental space every single day.

• Do a quick daily check-in with yourself. Take just a moment each day to see how you’re feeling. Do you feel stressed out? Worried? Are you feeling happy and well, or do you feel tired and not-so-great? When you know how you’re feeling, you can take steps to celebrate the good days or do what it takes to feel better when you’re down.
• Treat yourself every single day. Do you find that when you’re on vacation, you do certain things that you don’t usually do? Maybe it’s an extra 10 minutes just to sit and be. Maybe you love to dance or wear that special top or those shoes. Do it. You’re worth it, so do something that feels special and indulgent every single day.
• Give yourself permission to ask for help. Don’t think that your problems are too small or too unimportant. Give yourself the freedom and permission to contact a therapist or someone when you feel like you’re struggling. Did you know that mentally healthy people often benefit from seeking therapy? It’s true. Often, the right person can help you to sort through things. You might not even realize you’re struggling with other issues. So, make it okay to talk to someone before things get bad.
• Talk about your stress. It can be hard to admit when we’re feeling stressed. We don’t want people to think that we’re complaining or being childish, but research shows that when you don’t talk about the stress that you’re feeling, you run the risk of feeling isolated and lonely. Not only that, but when you’re authentic and true and express your feelings of stress and worry, you actually might make your relationships stronger.
• Consider seeking help if you struggle with substance or alcohol abuse. Did you know that alcohol and substance abuse are often just a symptom of something deeper that you might not be addressing? Maybe it’s unacknowledged stress, maybe you’re struggling with anxiety or depression. You might have more than a few drinks to calm you down and it might make you feel better, at least temporarily. It could be that you’re struggling with an alcohol or substance abuse disorder and could benefit from treatment. Catching it early can make overcoming an addiction so much easier, and can help you to improve your whole life while taking care of your mental health.

This Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, we can all take steps to take care of ourselves and recognize that for people of color, many situations could cause unaddressed mental health issues. We could try to take steps to ensure that nobody is left struggling mentally or emotionally.

Sources

iabhp.com – National Wellness Observance Calendar

self.com – 11 Small but Important Ways to Take Care of Your Mental Health

fitbit – Why It’s Important to Talk Honestly About Stress