Mental Health Action Day – 3 Steps toward Healing and Help-Seeking
EDC is honored to partner with MTV Entertainment Group and over 1,000 organizations in 30 countries to mark the first annual Mental Health Action Day on Thursday, May 20.
One result of the COVID-19 pandemic has been an increase in awareness of mental health needs and a greater transparency in talking about these needs. The goal of the Mental Health Action Day is to encourage people to move from awareness to action.
Starting with May 20, and moving forward, we encourage you to take #MentalHealthAction to tend to your personal well‑being and to support loved ones, friends, and co-workers. Along with our partners, we are calling for coordinated action to ensure all people receive the high-quality behavioral health care they need every day, everywhere. This call for action—and for openness, compassion, and support for all—is always vital, but especially key amid the stresses and trauma of COVID-19.
Around the world, almost 1 billion people live with mental health issues. In the United States, one in five adults experience symptoms of a mental health condition each year. These statistics underscore what we know to be true. Over a lifetime, all of us—and our relatives, friends, and colleagues—may live with, or be in recovery from, a mental health condition.
On Mental Health Action Day, we are celebrating help-seeking and stories of resilience and recovery. The good news is that help is available, and hope is a reality for all people who experience mental health issues. Here are three steps you can take to move from awareness to action on promoting safety, help-seeking, and healing.
1. Talk about Mental Health to Stop the Silence, Stigma, and Shame. Having open discussions about mental health issues, listening, and sharing information opens doors to help-seeking and healing. Here’s what you can do to take action:
- Share these infographics from the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) to help spread the word on the prevalence of mental health conditions.
- Use this Framework for Successful Messaging, developed by the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention at EDC (Action Alliance), to develop messages that are strategic, safe, and positive.
- Read the Action Alliance’s Mental Health and Suicide Prevention National Response to COVID-19.
- Share your own story about resilience. Not sure what to say or why you should say it? Read Adam Swanson’s testimony about getting help, and listen to Terresa Humphries-Wadsworth discuss the value of having suicide survivors share their experiences.
2. Carve Out Time for Yourself. Life can be beyond hectic, but it’s vital to make space for your own mental health. Here’s what you can do to take action:
- Model good self-care by noticing your stress level and engaging in healthy coping techniques. Children can do this, too!
- Stay connected and keep reaching out—especially since the stressors of the past year have raised concerns about substance misuse.
- Set time aside every day to reflect on your own well-being and needs and to care for yourself.
3. Advocate to Improve Mental Health Support. Too many people with mental health issues face obstacles to getting help. Consider learning more and becoming a mental health change agent in your community. Here’s what you can do to take action:
- Learn about behavioral health equity.
- Review the American Psychological Association’s guidelines for eliminating inequities in mental health services and see how you can get involved.
- Find ways to make mental health care more culturally responsive.
- Address inequities and racism in public health.
Do you want more ideas? Or perhaps you’re ready to share your story? Join #MentalHealthAction on social media, and help us move from awareness to action on mental health.