With May being Mental Health Awareness Month I was asked to dedicate a post to talking about mental health. I am happy to be able to do that today, because it is important. I personally have dealt and currently deal with mental health struggles which I will talk about a little later. But let's be honest, after last year and pandemic hitting, I would imagine most everyone has had their fair share of mental health struggles. From various losses of loved ones or jobs, to the transitioning to working at home or remote learning, to the loneliness of not being able to see family and friends, to the anxiety of not knowing how long we would be living like this -we were all affected.
For this post, I was able to chat with Sophia Hartman, who is a a Qualified Mental Health Professional working as a community based counselor for children, adolescents, and adults in Virginia. In addition to answering my questions, Sophia also supplied me with resourceful sites which I used while researching for this post and will be pulling from as well. So, what is mental health? And why is it so important? "Mental health is a disorder of the brain," Sophia explained, "it can be caused by several different factors which include things like trauma/abuse, genetics, social influences, or chemistry of the brain." As for why it is important, "there is a wide range of mental health disorders which can affect your mood, emotions, behaviors, cognitive processing and physiological responses," she explained that "a mental health concern is often identified as a mental illness when ongoing signs and symptoms cause frequent stress and impact an individual’s ability to function in every-day life.”
For this post, I was able to chat with Sophia Hartman, who is a a Qualified Mental Health Professional working as a community based counselor for children, adolescents, and adults in Virginia. In addition to answering my questions, Sophia also supplied me with resourceful sites which I used while researching for this post and will be pulling from as well. So, what is mental health? And why is it so important? "Mental health is a disorder of the brain," Sophia explained, "it can be caused by several different factors which include things like trauma/abuse, genetics, social influences, or chemistry of the brain." As for why it is important, "there is a wide range of mental health disorders which can affect your mood, emotions, behaviors, cognitive processing and physiological responses," she explained that "a mental health concern is often identified as a mental illness when ongoing signs and symptoms cause frequent stress and impact an individual’s ability to function in every-day life.”
The problem however, is that people seem to be nervous to talk about mental health and according to Sophia, "it is because of the stigma around it." "Many people fear mental illness. It is a degrading attribute that produces a feeling of isolation to those struggling." In fact, Sophia sent me several videos that address stigmas in more detail, which I will link below. One gentleman broke the stigma of mental health into four categories; Public stigma -how the public views mental health/illness, Institutional stigma -laws that prevent people from full rights and/or lack of health care, Internal stigma -how do I feel about myself being part of a group that is not valued, and Courtesy stigma -what if me or my family is associated with someone who is stigmatized? There was one line that stood out to me. "Stigma can be just as debilitating as the illness itself."
That hit home for me.
This post is personal for me because like many others I am struggling with my mental health. I noticed a few years ago that my anxiety was creeping up on me. It wasn't often but I'd have moments where I'd worry that my life was going by too fast and I hadn't really accomplished anything. It gradually kept getting worse. Then Covid hit and my anxiety was probably the worst it had ever been. Not to mention some other personal things happened that just made me feel like I was drowning, and I began to realize I was using alcohol to cope. While I'm going to counseling now -shout out to Thrive Counseling!- it was not an easy thing to admit I needed to do. I was afraid of what people might think of me or how they may look at me. I felt like something was wrong with me. That's the stigma.
And me being afraid to admit it and struggling on my own was an example of how the stigma can be just as debilitating. Now I feel much better. I feel like I have a grasp on things, I'm finding better ways to cope with stress and anxiety, I am journaling. I still have bad days, but they are easier to handle with help.
This post is personal for me because like many others I am struggling with my mental health. I noticed a few years ago that my anxiety was creeping up on me. It wasn't often but I'd have moments where I'd worry that my life was going by too fast and I hadn't really accomplished anything. It gradually kept getting worse. Then Covid hit and my anxiety was probably the worst it had ever been. Not to mention some other personal things happened that just made me feel like I was drowning, and I began to realize I was using alcohol to cope. While I'm going to counseling now -shout out to Thrive Counseling!- it was not an easy thing to admit I needed to do. I was afraid of what people might think of me or how they may look at me. I felt like something was wrong with me. That's the stigma.
And me being afraid to admit it and struggling on my own was an example of how the stigma can be just as debilitating. Now I feel much better. I feel like I have a grasp on things, I'm finding better ways to cope with stress and anxiety, I am journaling. I still have bad days, but they are easier to handle with help.
That being said, how do we break the stigma? How do we change people's attitudes about mental health? The answer seems simple; just start a conversation. Of course, that is sometimes easier said than done, but like the video points out, talking about it and speaking out can cause a ripple effect. Start one on one with a family member or a friend and have an open and honest conversation. The goal is that the more we do it the easier and more normalized it will become. "Advocacy can help educate."
One question that came to my mind was how to check in on yourself as far as your mental health. "SELF CARE!" was Sophia's emphatic response. Self care is the best things you can do for yourself. Some ways you can practice self care include but are not limited to: getting professional care if you need, getting physically active, helping others, developing coping skills, getting enough sleep, and connecting with others. Those came from MentalHealth.gov -another excellent site Sophia sent to me. It gives other ways to maintain a positive mental health practices and the benefits of maintaining positive mental health. It also gives a list of early warning signs of potential mental health concerns. Some of those include, but are not limited to: eating or sleeping too much or too little, pulling away from people and usual activities, low or no energy, experiencing severe mood swings, smoking, drinking, or using drugs more than usual, and/or difficulty performing day to day tasks.
One question that came to my mind was how to check in on yourself as far as your mental health. "SELF CARE!" was Sophia's emphatic response. Self care is the best things you can do for yourself. Some ways you can practice self care include but are not limited to: getting professional care if you need, getting physically active, helping others, developing coping skills, getting enough sleep, and connecting with others. Those came from MentalHealth.gov -another excellent site Sophia sent to me. It gives other ways to maintain a positive mental health practices and the benefits of maintaining positive mental health. It also gives a list of early warning signs of potential mental health concerns. Some of those include, but are not limited to: eating or sleeping too much or too little, pulling away from people and usual activities, low or no energy, experiencing severe mood swings, smoking, drinking, or using drugs more than usual, and/or difficulty performing day to day tasks.
Mental Health is not something to fear away from because truly, the further you run from it, the more difficult dealing with it may become. Remember, your mental health is just as important as your physical health! I encourage you all to try and reach out to your family or friends if you think they may be struggling, just remember to be honest and open-minded while having these tough conversations. As a final note, please don't be afraid to reach out if you need someone to talk to and make sure to follow @nvznworldwide to learn more from Sophia Hartman as she begins introducing her expertise and effective mental health resources as the Lifestyle Management Director for Nvizion, LLC. I want to end by giving a HUGE thank you to Sophia for offering some insight to help me shape this post!
For more information on mental health please check out these sites!
www.mentalhealth.gov (This is where I got a lot of my research from and I highly recommend! It gives you information about mental health, early warning signs, tips about self care, and resources if you need to reach out.)
www.bringchange2mind.org -This was the site with the videos about stigmas and how to change them. Full of information!
https://afsp.org/mentalhealth4all?gclid=Cj0KCQjwkZiFBhD9ARIsAGxFX8D6GjkkYXF5QJjOhgzPl8pliyhuCSj3fqFmygI0Zvn3Tn0RLMnaG50aAj2mEALw_wcB
(This site is the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. It has information on mental health as well as resources if you need help as well as stories from other people who have struggled themselves.)
Home - Mental Health Is Health (This is a great site to figure out your emotions and figure out a way to deal with them. Its helpful and helps you focus on what it is you are dealing with and gives you resources to help you.)
If you need places to reach out to I would recommend:
www.betterhelp.com -it is virtual and you can pick a counselor that is right for you. This is a great site because it can be done anywhere because it is virtual.
Also I personally want to shout out Thrive Counseling, they are in the Charlotte, NC area and that is where I am counseling at. If you are in the area, I would highly recommend them. They are very sweet and you can do in person or virtual as schedules require.
And if you are thinking of harming yourself please, please call this number! The National Suicide Hotline: 800 273 8255
For more information on mental health please check out these sites!
www.mentalhealth.gov (This is where I got a lot of my research from and I highly recommend! It gives you information about mental health, early warning signs, tips about self care, and resources if you need to reach out.)
www.bringchange2mind.org -This was the site with the videos about stigmas and how to change them. Full of information!
https://afsp.org/mentalhealth4all?gclid=Cj0KCQjwkZiFBhD9ARIsAGxFX8D6GjkkYXF5QJjOhgzPl8pliyhuCSj3fqFmygI0Zvn3Tn0RLMnaG50aAj2mEALw_wcB
(This site is the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. It has information on mental health as well as resources if you need help as well as stories from other people who have struggled themselves.)
Home - Mental Health Is Health (This is a great site to figure out your emotions and figure out a way to deal with them. Its helpful and helps you focus on what it is you are dealing with and gives you resources to help you.)
If you need places to reach out to I would recommend:
www.betterhelp.com -it is virtual and you can pick a counselor that is right for you. This is a great site because it can be done anywhere because it is virtual.
Also I personally want to shout out Thrive Counseling, they are in the Charlotte, NC area and that is where I am counseling at. If you are in the area, I would highly recommend them. They are very sweet and you can do in person or virtual as schedules require.
And if you are thinking of harming yourself please, please call this number! The National Suicide Hotline: 800 273 8255
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