Here's What Mental Health Month Is About

May is mental health awareness month. Lots of content is published about it throughout the month, people touting both their expertise and their experiences. But it’s more than that. It’s more than a few articles, a hashtag, and a color (green) devoted to the seemingly boundless cause.

In order to take care of a problem, you need to be aware it exists. Actually, it’s more than that. You need to be aware the problem exists, aware there’s action that needs to be taken, and maybe even aware of what that action might be. Mental health, its taboo, and the way it consumes people in the shadows is something that needs to be discussed. It’s a problem that not many know the answer to. Maybe there isn’t an answer, but it’s something that at least needs to be acknowledged.

America’s mental health is a problem. And it’s America’s problem. You know someone who knows someone. You know someone, maybe. Maybe it’s you. 1 in 5 people will experience a mental health problem in their lives. If 1 in 20 residents of Los Angeles, the beautiful city of angels, are suffering from depression. It's clear it can strike anyone and anywhere. Millions of Americans are suffering.

That’s a lot of us. The odds are against us. But the numbers are in our favor, meaning that we can and should make strives to understand one another better. We can start here.

Each May, dubbed Mental Health Awareness Month since 1949, is host to a new theme that represents the outreach focus of the organizations supporting Mental Health Awareness Month like NAMI and the ADAA. #4Mind4Body is this year's theme, with past years’ themes including Mind Your Health, Risky Business, and Get Connected. The activities held during this month are all to benefit the ultimate cause of raising awareness of life with mental illness.

The reality is that treating mental illness and prioritizing mental health isn’t easy. Our world is fast paced, requiring a lot and putting a lot of stress on people. We’re a little more fragile than we allow ourselves to think. We rush through a lot, pushing down what it is we’re really feeling until we’re burnout out and also out of PTO.

One of the main goals of Mental Health Awareness Month is to reduce the stigma associated with the disorders listed in the DSM. The aim is to offer resources, education, and training to help people see new perspectives and reduce the misconceptions there are out there about mental illness. Not everyone has anxiety. If you don’t like a mess, you don’t have OCD. We’re quick to say these things, assigning them meaning and invalidating the people who suffer from these disorders. Because mental health is wellness, and you can’t be well without it.

Another goal of Mental Health Awareness Month is to fight for the issues those with mental illness face. Insurance doesn’t necessarily treat mental illness the same as physical illness, regardless of the fact it’s a brain issue or a chemical issue and that’s physical—either way. It’s a time to stand together and support the advocacy of mental health public policy and making positive changes to it.

Encourage mental health screening. Provide resources that offer support and direction for people who are suffering, but possibly unable to reach out. Be the friend someone needs, and hold a hand that’s outstretched.

If you or a loved one is suffering from an addiction or challenges with your mental health, you aren’t suffering alone.