Since Mental Health Awareness Month has arrived some people might have asked themselves, “What can I do to get involved with mental health awareness month?” There are many options that people can pick from, ranging from community help to participating in public events. In the community, some people specialize in helping with mental health disorders, Some of the people who have these disorders might be nervous or distrustful because of the random person helping them with their problems. If you have friends or family who are unsure about talking to a trusted adult or a therapist, you can help by persuading them to try and get the help they need.
When local events appear, try and take the opportunity to go to them because it’s a good way to spend your time spreading awareness to other people and helping people get the help they need to make them feel better and learn how to cope with their disorders. Public events are great options to help support people with mental health disorders. These events can be local or not, for example in Annapolis, MD, ASICS is running multiple mental health runs to support Mental Health Awareness Month. Another nearby event is in Prince Fredrick at the Calvert Library from May 6-11, during the event people will be able to drop off chalk and participate in helping people draw on the blacktop and raising money in the process. These events are great opportunities to earn learning service hours for any kid in high school. Lots of events are open for the public to have fun and support a good cause that has been a problem for over 20 years, with the support from these events people can pay to help build a better life for people suffering from mental health disorders. The best way to take a stand is by participating in these events. On social media platforms, people will post about these events, and if some are close it’s suggested to go and support the cause and help raise money.
Now let’s direct the attention to individual help. When thinking about a trusted adult it comes down to the person they can trust to tell things to. The process of encouraging someone to seek help isn’t a one-and-done thing. It takes months to get them to be comfortable and trust who they are talking to. It’s not easy to find someone to trust, and many factors play when finding a therapist. Some of these factors consist of financial stability, personal life, and availability. If the person’s parents aren’t comfortable with them talking to a therapist, it’s a lot harder for them to talk to someone trusted.
Not all people like to seek help, but it can lead to future conflicts that hurt that person’s mental health, it may be nerve-racking to talk to a stranger but it’s the best option to talk to someone you can trust. The steps to encouraging someone comes from your knowledge of the person, there is no simple way to talk them into it, if you know the person by heart and can recognize that they need help and what help they need then the hardest part is getting them to trust you. The biggest part about mental health is trust. It’s really difficult for people to trust someone new and it takes months before someone might be comfortable but it will all boil down to trust.
When everything is said and done and mental health month passes, don’t forget to be kind to others because you don’t know what someone could have been through and with this month being the time of recognition, you might get to see how someone truly feels and how they are different from others and are still seeking help. So the best thing to do is be kind no matter what is thrown in your direction. Just imagine how others feel and take the responsibility to be the bigger person and help to the best of your ability
