May Is Mental Health Awareness Month—Find Out Its History and Why It’s More Important Than Ever
May is Mental Health Awareness Month (MHAM), and it’s a more important observance than ever: Almost 20% of American adults—nearly 50 million Americans currently experience mental illness, and many of them suffer in silence because of the stigmas associated with mental illness and mental disorders.
“Mental Health Awareness Month is important because so many times it gets overlooked unless something really major happens, like a death by suicide or a celebrity having some sort of a breakdown,” mental health advocate and author of The Precipice of Mental Health: Becoming Your Own Safe Space Achea Redd tells Parade. “Mental health is health and deserves to be put on the forefront just like the other illnesses we recognize throughout the year. The more we put it out front, the less stigma and the more normalized it becomes.”
Is there a National Mental Health Awareness Month?
Indeed there is, in May of each year. May is also Borderline Personality Disorder Awareness Month and National Teen Self-Esteem Month. There are also several other mental health observances in May 2022, including:
- National Mental Health Awareness Week (May 10-16, 2022)
- National Barber Mental Health Awareness Day (May 19, 2022)
- National Hairstylist Mental Health Awareness Day (May 27, 2022)
October is also an important month for mental health: It’s National Depression and Health Screening Month. Why is that equally important? Because about 16.1 million American adults suffer from major depressive disorder, while another 3.3 million American adults have persistent depressive disorder.
MHAM started to reduce the stigma associated with mental health and to encourage those who need help to seek it—it’s a sign of strength, not weakness. Mental Health Awareness Month was first honored in 1949.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) honors MHAM each May, as do numerous other mental health support organizations.
Who started MHAM?
Clifford Whittingham Beers founded the National Committee for Mental Hygiene, which later became the National Mental Health Association. Beers and several members of his family suffered from mental illness and were often hospitalized or placed in institutions, where mistreatment was rampant. Other organizations followed suit worldwide in efforts to find better treatment for and end the stigma surrounding mental illnesses and disorders, as well as increase empathy and compassion for those with mental illnesses and their loved ones.
What is the MHAM 2022 theme?
The theme of MHAM 2022 is “Together for Mental Health,” per NAMI. The idea behind the theme is for the world to combine their voices to advocate for mental health care and access to mental health services.
What is the color of MHAM?
A green ribbon is a symbol for MHAM.
*Source: By PARADE @parademagazine
Comments are closed