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Mental Health Awareness Month: Resources and #Mentalhealth365

May 29, 2024

Mental Health Awareness Month: Resources and #Mentalhealth365

Here we are at the end of May. Does mental health awareness end on the 31^st? Of course not! This week, we will share resources on what it might be like to consider mental health awareness as a 365-day-per-year priority.

Starting with resources, there are resources available to you. Here is a list of a few resources if you or someone you know is struggling:

• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (24/7), call 988
• Spanish Language National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-888-628-9454
• NH Rapid Response Access Point 833-710-6477 or NH988.com
• Hope Line Crisis Text Line:  TEXT 741741
• NH Crisis Addiction Line:  2-1-1
• NAMI New Hampshire (National Alliance on Mental Illness, NH) www.naminh.org 1-800-242-NAMI (6264)

Now for the more nuanced part, what does it look like to practice and support mental health awareness 365 days per year? We can practice mental health community care by:

• Understanding mental health as something we all have—it is how we think, feel, and act
• Applying positive self-care practices routinely
• Engaging in conversations in a genuine way, with empathy and the intent of building meaningful relationships
• Understanding and applying trauma-informed guiding principles when interacting with others
• Understanding the impact of social determinants of health, discrimination and marginalization on mental health
• Modeling emotion regulation, co-regulation, and effective coping skills
• Recognizing signs that someone may be struggling
• Connecting individuals to primary and specialty supports when needed
• Providing initial response in crisis situations
• Initiating dialogue and collaborating with others to embed mental health informal care supports throughout the community

We all have a role in supporting the mental health of our communities, and we hope that this month of education and awareness has inspired you to a part of the solution. Start from where you are, with what you have, and know that every effort counts.

Looking to engage further or have questions? Please contact Katie Soule, Director of Social and Emotional Wellbeing, at ksoule@graniteymca.org.