Happy Mental Health Awareness Month!

“There is no health without mental health; mental health is too important to be left to the professionals alone, and mental health is everyone’s business.” – Vikram Patel

May is Mental Health Awareness Month! Happy Mental Health Awareness! 

We all know that this month of Mental Health Awareness has fallen on a crucial time. … With six to eight weeks of lock down in the US, or three to four months depending on where you are reading this post during this “unprecedented” Coronavirus Pandemic. It is a vital moment to reflect on the importance of our mental and physical health. And since the Pandemic began, there has been increased attention to this topic.

I know so many of you are struggling right now. I am too. And it’s hard to reminisce about better times, and think about all the plans, dreams, and goals that we had for the BIG 2020, making it THE YEAR… the year to achieve those aspirations…or make critical progress…or close an important chapter of our storybooks…and embark on new journeys, or perhaps new relationships.

Only 20-30% of the world is in lock down/quarantine. A great amount of uncertainty and fear continues to loom at a personal and collective level. As of this moment, globally, we now have over 270,000 deaths and nearly 4 million cases, and of the 270,000, there are now over 75,000 deaths in the US. Sorry, I know I don’t need to rehash this for you…

Last month, I shared how I feel about the impact on the narrative of Mental Health during our “Coronapocolypse” in a post which you can read here. The post specifically encourages the fight to end Stigma on mental health during and after the Pandemic. 

Millions of people struggled with mental illnesses prior to the Pandemic. These pre-existing conditions have multiplied ten-fold for many. I shared how this impacted my personal struggle in that post as well.

There are a lot of lessons that we must take from the Pandemic and it would be a shame if it didn’t include ending the Stigma against mental health in every domain in society. 

This month is intended to be a time where we honor, commemorate, celebrate, and educate…. in the name of Mental Health.

So Let’s take advantage of this month as much as possible!

Please check out my Mental Health Repository for resources I have been collecting for my own mental health… I have tried to update and will continue to do so going forward. Please feel free to send me any suggestions too!

Similar to last year, Mental health Awareness Month again falls almost entirely on the Month of Ramadan, a holy month for Muslims. It has been a little over two weeks now since the Month of Ramadan started. And one thing Muslims try to do in Ramadan is develop habits of worship that can be carried with them throughout the year.

That’s how I have appreciated May, ever since I learned it was Mental Health Awareness Month. Similar to Ramadan, May has become a time where I can reflect and develop habits to support my mental health, and at the same time, to help increase awareness on mental illness, beating stigma, and learning about illnesses, sharing information in whatever capacity I can, and carry that learning process forward…

It’s difficult to do this, when you yourself are struggling, but you try anyway, and you relapse, but you keep trying, and you take whatever chance you get. On my part, I believe I may be able to write more on this topic, and do more of the types of things I want to do, once my dissertation is completed. But being reminded to take care of your mental health especially during a global pandemic remains critical to being able to advance in your goals, dreams, and life plans.

The Pandemic has reminded us, in a very BIG way, that our health, mental and physical, is everything, and we are nothing without it, and we can do nothing without it.

We should honor this month of Mental Health by learning and educating our self and others on the importance of taking care of our Health.

We should take a moment to reflect on what we can do to help ourselves and others… and most importantly understand that the struggle is real….and that the struggle is universal.

Peace, warmth, and blessings,

Elsa

The Warrior KQueen

“She wasn’t looking for a knight. She was looking for a sword.” – Atticus

Thank you for reading, if you find this post resourceful, please feel free to follow or subscribe. At the moment I am writing once a month, but I hope to return to my original goal of writing a post once a week once I finish my dissertation. 🙂 Thank you again for your valuable time!