May is Mental Health Awareness Month
Mental Health Matters
Why is mental health so important to me? If you’ve been here a while, you know what my journey has looked like. If you’re new, let me catch you up.
I am a clinically depressed, anxiety-ridden, bipolar type 2 human being who is not a stranger to trauma.
I take three little white pills every day to keep me together.
And I know I am not the only one.
You Are Not Alone
1 in 5 adults experience mental illness each year and only half receive treatment
the average delay between onset of symptoms and treatment is ELEVEN years
50% of all lifetime mental illness begins by age 14 and 75% by age 24
suicide is the second leading cause of death among people aged 10-14
45% of LGBTQ+ youth seriously considered suicide in the last year
LGBTQ+ teens are 6 times more likely to experience symptoms of depression than non-LGBTQ+ identifying teens and over four times more likely to attempt suicide
Tips For When It’s Too Much
#1 Do Something You Love:
Get out in nature, make art, put on an album you love and shake your booty, watch a comfort show (I highly recommend Gilmore Girls and Schitt’s Creek), snuggle your animals, read a book, etc.
#2 Listen To Your Body:
Rest, take a walk, take a yoga class, dance, or curl up in a blanket fort.
#3 Talk To A Friend
#4 Practice Gratitude:
Studies have shown that writing down what you are grateful for decreases depression, improves sleep, and may increase the production of dopamine and serotonin, two neurotransmitters that cause you to feel good.
#5 Notice The Room Around You:
What colors are in the room, what does it smell like, what can you hear, what does the blanket you’re wrapped up in feel like
#6 Book An Acupuncture Session:
You knew I would say that, right?
