While mental health is important to address year-round, Mental Health Awareness Month provides a dedicated time for people, organizations, and communities to join their voices to broadcast the message that mental health matters.
The following information is from the Minnesota Department of Health – Mental Health Awareness Month Toolkit.
WEEK 2: NURTURE YOUR MENTAL WELLBEING
Self-connection, or self-care, is about finding practices that help you thrive, and it can include a range of things. It takes purposeful effort, but it can help you maintain or improve your daily mental wellbeing. It can be helpful to think of it as taking time to connect with yourself and care for yourself as you would others.
Prioritizing time to connect doesn’t have to be time consuming or expensive, and it is important for you to find out what works best for you. Here are a few different ways to nurture your mental wellbeing, from the Mental Health Coalition.
Physical: Notice and address the stress that shows up in your body. What physical activities reduce or alleviate pain, tension, and stress for you? Some common activities are massages, fitness or dance, aromatherapy, rest, and boundary setting. Emotional: Involves tending to your own mood and feelings. Ways can include connecting with others, acknowledging your emotions, therapy, journaling or creative writing, art, and setting boundaries. Cognitive: Engages in activities that are intellectually rewarding and/or stimulating. This can include reading, writing, listening to podcasts, watching movies, and therapy. Spiritual: This can take many different forms and does not have to be tied to formal religion. It means getting in touch with the less tangible aspects of yourself and the world around you. This can include meditation and breathing, prayer, connecting with a spiritual or religious community, and mantras.
Identify a few ways you’d like to prioritize your own wellbeing. Set aside the time you need to do it, give yourself permission to embrace it, and work towards adding these moments regularly into your life. Know what taking care of yourself may look like and that it can change over time. It is okay to adapt what activities you engage in to fit your needs.
- Just like you do things to take care of your body, there are things you can do regularly to tend to your mental wellbeing. This can and will look different for everyone. The JED Foundation has a variety of resources to help find ideas to add to your self-care practice.
- Learning to recognize and name your emotions and know how they show up for you mentally and physically will help you navigate life when your emotions are strong. The Mental Health Coalition has tools for identifying and dealing with feelings.
- Being well connected to other people promotes positive mental and physical health and gives life meaning. Connecting with others is one of the 10 Tools for Resiliency that Mental Health America has put together to help you feel stronger and more hopeful.
- Finding movement that is a good match for you physically and mentally can help you thrive. Be kind with yourself and your body in the process of learning to move. Explore these videos from the University of Minnesota’s Move + Thrive Project, that features diverse bodies and a variety of movement and meditation.
I am one of four wonderful librarians here at Meinders Community Library and we have books and resources on the topic that can help you or your loved ones. Patron confidentiality is a guiding principle in library work, so please don’t be afraid to ask. I am also a survivor and an advocate, so I am always here to help or lend an ear to listen. I have reserved the library conference room on Wednesday, May 21st from 5-7pm for a Mental Health Meet-Up. Whether you are an advocate and want to share ideas to help make a difference, or you are a survivor and want to share your story and plan activities moving forward, we are here to listen and to make connections! I hope you will join me! Everyone’s journey is different, but you are NEVER alone!
Until next time, stay happy, healthy, and safe! ~Sally~