By: Natalia Garcia Luna

Hey everyone! I hope you have had an excellent week. This week’s post will be different to any other post we have done before. Since it is Mental Health Awareness Month, I want to speak about its importance. 

Mental Health Awareness Month has been an annual tradition since 1949. Every year, May has been used to spread awareness on the importance of checking on our loved ones and ourselves about our mental health. This month is also a big opportunity to teach the public about the seriousness of this topic. People can be taught about things such as the warning signs of suicide or how the media can affect the mental health of younger children. People can also be guided on resources that can help them or their loved ones with their mental health. 

The public is taught what good mental health should look like. It should be the state of successful performance of mental function that results in productive activities. People with good mental health also are successful in maintaining healthy relationships and having the ability to adapt to change and challenges. 

On the other hand, the public also learns about different mental disorders. “Mental disorders are health conditions that are characterized by alterations in thinking, mood, and/or behavior that are associated with distress and/or impaired functioning.” These are among the most common causes of disability. An estimated 43.6 Million (18.1%) of U.S. adults suffer from any mental illness and 9.8 Million (4.2%) suffer from a seriously debilitating mental illness. This also makes suicide the 10th leading cause of death in the United States. 

Mental health and physical health are like yin and yang. They both need to be healthy to work. If you have poor mental health, then you won’t have good physical health. Illnesses like depression can affect this relationship. A bad mental health can result in physical problems like heart disease. 

During what is left of May, I would like to encourage you to read any of our previous articles and share your favorite post to someone you care about. Encourage them to learn more about their mental health and its importance. Always remember to think positive and never let negative thoughts ruin your day. Try to live each day differently as if it is your first ever day on Earth, not your last. Each day has a new beginning. Cherish it. 

If you haven’t already, make sure to fill out our survey and tell us what your favorite thing about this project has been? No matter how long or how short, we would love to hear back from you!

Source: https://www.bost.org/the-importance-of-mental-health-awareness-month/