....as well as many other causes' awareness month, but, since this is my blog, I am choosing to highlight May as Mental Health Awareness month.
I thought I would share a couple of ways you could either learn more about Mental Health or support the cause:
1. If you have not heard of The Bloggess aka Jenny Lawson, I highly recommend you look into her work. Of course, there is her blog. I also highly recommend her book Furiously Happy; I recommend this book because it discusses and explains mental illness with humor. So often we see commercials for antidepressants with a cloud hanging over the protagonist and the ridiculous number of side effects, but it is nice to take a different perspective on it - one with laughter. I even have a notebook with "We're All Mad Here" - a quote from Alice in Wonderland - that I bring to almost all of my psychiatrist appointments. When my psychiatrist first noticed it, he kind of raised one eyebrow at me and I responded with "What? I should at least have some fun with all of this." He laughed and nodded his agreement. Anyways, Jenny Lawson's book is also great for anyone who is trying to better understand mental illness, specifically anxiety and depression. One of my favorite analogies from this book has to do with spoons. The idea is that each day you are given a certain number of spoons for that day; the spoons represent strength, resiliency, etc. When you are afflicted with a mental illness you have fewer spoons, and you wake up each morning with the same number of spoons you went to sleep with. I shared this analogy with those close to me to explain why I didn't necessarily feel better after 'a good night's rest.' Sleep does not necessarily help to combat mental illnesses. It may be easier to fight a mental illness when you are well rested, but I find that when I am in the throes of a depression or a particularly anxious time, it is even harder than normal for me to get a good night's sleep, so sleep is not really a cure to mental illnesses. Lawson has another, more autobiographical book entitled Let's Pretend This Never Happened (also good for a lol) and a coloring book.
2. If you like nail polish and have not heard of color street, you should definitely look into it. Cute designs at affordable prices, easy application, and long wear. I'm specifically mentioning them because they have a design called Listen and Love that includes a green ribbon for mental health awareness (there are other awarenesses that also utilize a green ribbon so you could also get it for other causes). $2 of the purchase goes towards two separate organizations aimed at helping youth afflicted by mental illness. I am not really familiar with the organizations the money is going towards, but from what I have read on them, they sound great.
3. Finally, there is the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. I have mentioned this organization before when I participated in one of their Out of the Darkness Walks. As I have gotten to know others battling mental illness I have learned the hard way how some mental illness cases end. The AFSP is a private organization that supports those who have been affected by suicide as well as works to find various ways to reduce suicide in this country. I strongly support this organization as I have lost two friends to suicide.
If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to reach out to me.
