Mental Health Awareness Month

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. In researching this yearly event I was surprised to learn that it started back in the 1940’s as a weekly observance and eventually expanded to include the entire month of May. In 2013, then President Barack Obama signed a proclamation stating his commitment to mental health and confirming May as National Mental Health Awareness Month. Each year there is a different theme. Some past themes include What Mental Illness Feels Like, and Pathways to Wellness. This year’s theme is Risky Business. Mental Health America, the organization that started Mental Health Awareness Month, explains: We believe it’s important to educate people about habits and behaviors that increase the risk of developing or exacerbating mental illnesses, or could be signs of mental health problems themselves. These include risk factors such as risky sex, prescription drug misuse, internet addiction, excessive spending, marijuana use, and troublesome exercise patterns. Mental Health America, and other organizations such as the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), have created tools and organized resources to assist individuals, organizations and communities in raising awareness of the types of issues the above risky behaviors present, especially for young people. What a wonderful source of information and support this is for so many people, and my guess is these efforts have helped a good number in our society who are suffering. This type of outreach ha...
Source: World of Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Inspiration & Hope Mental Health and Wellness Motivation and Inspiration Mental Disorder Mental Health Awareness Mental Illness Psychiatry Psychology Stigma stigmatizing Source Type: blogs