Ladhanya Balamurugan’28
EE Staff Writer
Last month, May, was Mental Awareness Month. According to the National Institutes of Health, 1 in 5 teenagers lives with a diagnosed mental health condition. About 40% of high school students experience an extensive feeling of sadness, and 50% of youth will experience a mental health disorder at some point during their teenage years. It is important to recognize this month and break the silence surrounding mental illness. It is crucial to understand that it is common and shouldn’t stand as a personal flaw. It is rooted in biology and environment and shouldn’t be a sign of personal weakness.
Where did Mental Health Awareness Month come from? In 1949, Mental Health Awareness Month was first launched by the National Association of Mental Health. It was started by MHA’s founder, Clifford W. Beers. Beers suffered from a severe psychological breakdown and was forced into a private and public asylum. He experienced terrible abuse and was in terrible conditions. He wrote a groundbreaking book called A Mind that Found Itself. This book sparked the “mental hygiene” movement and more awareness of mental illness. His organization eventually established an awareness week, which then turned into a full month.
Because of this awareness, today’s conversation has shifted from just understanding and identifying mental health conditions to actively trying to manage them in our daily lives. One crucial part of taking care of our mental health is to navigate daily stress through coping mechanisms. There are numerous types of coping mechanisms, as everyone’s brain works differently. To figure out what type of mechanism works best for you, think about what you imagine yourself doing when you are facing a major deadline. If you imagine yourself asking “what if” scenarios, you would be an overthinking person. If you start tapping your feet or feel like you need to run, you would be a high-energy person. If you immediately see yourself grabbing your headphones or doodling, you would be a creative person. If you want to take a nap and just stay in your room, you might be an introverted/exhausted person. Don’t worry about picking the “perfect” label. You might be an overthinker during finals week, but feel drained and want to take a long nap at the end. This quick quiz was just to feel like a starting point. Try one out and see how your body reacts, and if it didn’t work out for you, try another one.
If you are an overthinker or just find yourself overthinking, you can try this strategy. Write down all your disturbing thoughts and ask yourself two questions. For example, let’s say you think that if you fail this test, your entire life will be ruined. Write this down and ask two questions: Is this 100% true? What is a more realistic scenario? This helps to stop energy from spiraling and redirects it to logical thinking.
If you are a “high-energy” person, that means that you respond to stress by producing an excess of energy. Your body might want to move to get rid of that tension. A simple strategy to try is to sync your energy to a playlist. Play a song that matches the chaotic energy of your stress level. Queue a song that is slower and another that is slower to force your physical movement to slow down with the music. Your body is using an audio guide to slow down your heart rate and nervous system.
If you are a creative/visual person, that means you like to draw and paint to put your motion onto the canvas. You should close your eyes and think of the stressful situation you feel right now. Think of it as a movie. Mentally change the background music to something more calming and peaceful. It takes you out of that stressful situation and lowers your physical anxiety level. It is a great example of using imagination to gain control over how that situation makes you feel.
If you are more of an introverted/exhausted person, retreat to a safe place. Dim your light and use noise-cancelling headphones to listen to brown noise. Place a heavy pillow over the chest or lap for about 15 minutes. This would act as a quick reset for your nervous system.
Mental Health Awareness serves as a powerful reminder to understand that our struggles shouldn’t define us. By opening up these important conversations, we build a safer community. Moving forward, we should promise ourselves to be gentle and more attentive and supportive of one another. Your mental health matters today, tomorrow, and every day after. If you or a loved one ever needs support, know you aren’t alone- call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline anytime.
Photo courtesy: investinothers.org