Practicing Good Mental Health: Raising Awareness and Challenging Stigmas
By tessa Piccolo
Along with many warm days and the end of yet another long Canadian winter, the month of May has brought with it another event of significance: Mental Health Awareness Month. This four week-long campaign is aimed at raising awareness on mental health and highlighting the importance of creating safe spaces for those struggling with mental health illnesses, and those impacted by the stigma. This conversation becomes even more crucial when we consider that minority women are among the most affected by mental health issues and stigmas, often facing unique socio-cultural struggles and evident systemic barriers. The sad reality is that younger minority women are at the risk of continuing on the path of contending with the stigmas surrounding mental health if we fail to take more practical inclusive and supportive approach to sound mental health for all.
Mental Health vs Mental Illness
As we are encouraged to take care of our mental health, and act as great support systems to those suffering from mental health illnesses, it is important to fully understand what these mean. While both mental health and mental health illness are very relevant to this month's conversations, these terms should not be conflated. According to the Canadian Mental Health Association, mental illnesses are conditions that can disrupt the everyday activities of an individual for a prolonged period. In comparison, mental health refers to one's overall state of wellbeing.
Much like each individual has a physical state of health, they also have a mental and emotional health, which requires an equal amount of care and consideration. So while these two are closely related and taking care of your mental health can be a crucial step in addressing mental illness, combatting mental illness is often far more complex and often requires the help of professionals. Like all illness, ignoring a mental illness can make it much worse so it is always vital to consult a trusted source whether it be a therapist or family doctor if you or any of your loved ones are struggling with a mental illness.
For more information on dealing with mental illness, please visit any of these resources:
What Does Mental Health Look Like?
As awareness surrounding mental health and wellbeing grows, we risk using these terms too casually and with the assumption that everyone fully understands them. So what does it really mean to have “good” mental health and is there really such a thing? It is important to note that having good mental health is not the absence of stress, nor is it the ability to always be happy and maintain a positive attitude. Inevitably, we all face hardships causing us a number of negative emotions, and feelings that make us human. Mental heath rather refers to the ability to cope with those obstacles using healthy habits that take away their capacity to overwhelm our lives.
Practicing Mental Health
Maintaining a state of sound mental health goes beyond the simple knowledge of emotional and mental wellbeing. The word that should always be emphasized is 'practice'. Mental health is not linear or static and like anything, requires a lot of practice to work out. There is no one formula that magically cures everything and what works for some likely won't work for all. Taking care of your mental health is very much a process of trial and error-figuring out what works best for you and your lifestyle.
Although there is no perfect path to take when practicing mental health, there are some important ideas to consider that can help keep the prospect from overwhelming you:
Confront the stigma
The racial and gendered biases that are still so prominent in our society have also found their way into mental health awareness and education space. Far too many young minority girls and women are expected to be mature from a young age, often being labelled as tough enough or resilient in the face of the many obstacles posed by society. The pressure to uphold these assumptions and standards make it infinitely more difficult to reach out for help or even admit to struggling. Challenging this stigma is often a crucial first step in taking care of yourself and dismantling unfair and untrue presumptions. It is okay not to always be okay as vulnerability and resilience are in no way mutually exclusive.
2. Create or participate in safe spaces
Unlike physical health, there are often no visual indicators of mental wellbeing, making it easy to feel like you're alone in your struggles. But regardless of how people present on the outside, there is really no way to know what is happening on the inside unless you initiate conversations. It is for this reason that safe spaces- non-threatening and unbiased zones- are essential when addressing mental health. Talking to other girls who share your background or experiences can make you and others feel so much less alone in this journey. Your safe space could be a club offered at your school, community programs (like the ones offered here at EmpowHERto, which includes EmbraceHER, a mental health program for young minority girls and women) or a more informal gathering with friends, as long as it's a nonjudgmental space where you truly feel comfortable to share your feelings, it's a perfect place to start.
3. Life can wait... and it will
Life is already difficult to navigate. Between school, work, friendships, and family, somedays it feels like you can barely keep up with what's going on around you let alone what's going on within you. But in order to show up for everyone and everything else, you must first show up for yourself. Take your mental health journey one step at a time, giving yourself the love, patience, and understanding you deserve. You might actually be surprised to learn that being a better student, employee, friend and family member, can all be tied to being better to yourself.
As the wise RuPaul once said, "if you can't love yourself, how in the hell are you going to love anybody else. Can I get an amen up in here?"