May is National Mental Health Month, a designated time to pay attention to mental and psychological health concerns that so often go ignored. I'm often amazed at how often we ignore mental health. If our tooth or our stomach made us cry every night or engage in destructive behavior or withdraw from those we love, most of us wouldn't hesitate to go to the doctor and get help. But if our emotions or our mind causes those same painful symptoms, we often ignore them. Now is the time to end the stigma. Now is the time to stop ignoring and undertreating mental health and take proactive steps to protect and improve our mental health. Here are some ways to get started:
* If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, please call one of these national hotlines: 1-800-SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433), 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255) or for TTY, 1-800-799-4TTY (1-800-799-4889).
* Learn more about mental health and mental illness.
* If you are someone you know is in a crisis situation, consult this state-by-state list of crisis lines that you can call for help.
* Click here to find counseling and mental health services in your area.
* If you suffer addiction, consider a 12 step program (like Alcoholics Anonymous) to get help in recovery.
* If you are in an abusive relationship (either as the abuser, the abused, or as a witness), click here for information on how to get help and end abuse.
* Consult this list of hotlines to get information on a range of topics including substance abuse, suicide prevention, obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression, and Alzheimer Disease.
* Read these resources for information on mental health in children.
* Peruse these resources on coping with war, terrorism and other natural and human-made disasters.
Now is the time. Today. Right now. Take good care your yourself: mind, body and soul.
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Art is a wonderful form of beauty and expression, and it can also be a healing force. If you are a creative artist who likes to help people, or if you are a therapist with creative arts skills, or if you are looking for a therapist or know someone who is, consider these sites:
* Click here to find out what poetry therapists do.
* The National Association for Poetry Therapy certifies poetry therapists. Visit their site to find out about education and training.
* Learn more about how creative arts can be useful in healing at the National Coalition of Creative Arts Therapies Associations. "The creative arts therapies include art therapy, dance/movement therapy, drama therapy, music therapy, poetry therapy, and psychodrama."
I know some folks who have really benefitted from art therapy. Perhaps you can too!
Several years ago, I entered therapy for a few months to overcome some personal stumbling blocks. That was one of the best decisions I have ever made. During the sessions and reflective prayer, thought and writing during and afterwards, I realized that I already have the power to change my life for the better. I am not helpless, nor am I a victim. God has blessed me, and all of us, with the ability to make our lives and our society better. We just have to choose to do so.
This blog is an effort to show that there's a lot we can do that will make a positive difference in our own lives and in the lives of others. The actions discussed here are not limited to economic justice, the environment, or personal growth and development. They really can change the world!
Sometimes though, that can be difficult to do. I think there are at least two reasons why:
* We may be unhappy, unsatisfied, or discontented, but at least that feeling is familiar. Change can be scary or uncomfortable and that can make us resistant to initiating change, even if that change is for the better, and even if we want it.
* Once we claim personal agency and know deep down that we really can change our lives and the world, we feel obligated to do so. That might seem like a lot of work. So some folks may have difficulty claiming personal agency because it means that they will also have to claim personal responsibility.
Both of these reasons have been (and sometimes still are) relevant in my life. That's my two cents. Feel free to offer your own.
Depression only man makes unhealthy. So we try to come out from it. Keep your mind always peacefully.
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symonds
Dual Diagnosis
Dual Diagnosis
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