PSA: National Mental Health Month

(EDIT: I wrote this July 2011 and seeing I never posted it! It's still
relevant. -TD

July is National Mental Health. What does it means to be mentally
unstable? How to treat it? How NOT to treat it?What does mental health
mean in truly taking care of ourselves and others?

These are questions (and stigmas that grow from them) I've considered
through my bouts of depression. I reflected on who I was, and who I
(still) am during #noshameday, started by @basseyworldlive and
@thesiweproject. After you read this blog, please read up on The Siwe
Project and if only for this month, educate yourself on how mental
health specifically affects marginalized people, particularly
communities of color. Do it for yourself, for another loved one, for
the greater good.

...ok, so you're still hesitant. What if I gave you some direction?

1. Start with more about me. It's my blog so you have some interest in
me. I wasn't always this awesome. Or maybe I was and I was the last to
realize it. The day I decided to have #noshame was the day I admitted
that everything was not OK. I figured, maybe it's not just me. And I
was right.

2. Getchu some continuing education by following @thesiweproject.

3. Acknowledge and respect mental health and its professionals.
There's having a bad day because you couldnt get out of bed and later
lost your keys, then there's never wanting to get out of bed, and
later wanting to self-inflict physical and mental harm because you
lost your keys. Shout out not only to those who ultimately seek the
help they need, but the endless patience of those who are at the other
end of help.

4. Read someone else's story. You know bits and pieces of mine, but
take a look through the #noshameday tag. While twitter (and social
media) can be a very forthcoming platform, it takes a lot for someone
to say "im suffering, I need help." A lot of our stories boil down to
the same elements: lacking our most basic needs (to be fed, pleased
and cared for) in pursuit of self-realization.

In addition to reading #noshameday stories, check out Maslow's
Hierarchy of Needs and Willow Weep For Me, a memoir of a black woman's
mental health journey. If that's not for you, read a memoir or
biography of someone you truly respect. I bet you'll find their life
was no crystal stair.

5. Pass it on. By "it" I mean this. This blog, these resources. You
never know who will need it.


Sent from my iPhone