Mental Health Awareness & Holistic Well-being
In 1949, Mental Health America (MHA) first launched a week long event in an effort to destigmatize mental illness and raise suicide awareness. Clifford W. Beers, founded the Connecticut Society for Mental Hygiene in 1909, which would later become MHA. Mr. Beers struggled with bipolar disorder and was passionate about educating the public regarding mental illnesses and highlighting the shameful conditions he and millions of others endured in mental health institutions. The Connecticut Society of Mental Hygiene was focused on improving standards of care and attitudes toward the mentally ill, but Mr. Beers also recognized the importance of education targeting the prevention of mental illness and promoting mental health. One hundred and sixteen years later, we are still working on what Mr. Beers devoted his life to starting in 1908 with the writing of ‘A Mind That Found Itself’.
We no longer confine Mental Health Awareness to just one week. We have learned a lot about mental illness and the importance of promoting mental wellness. Most importantly we have come to the realization that struggles with mental health affect us all in some way. 46% of Americans will meet the criteria for a diagnosable mental health condition in their lives. Even if you do not meet the criteria for more than 200 named mental health conditions, you will struggle with your own mental wellness at some point in your life and you are guaranteed to know someone who struggles with a chronic mental health disorder.
We now know it isn’t just about mental health or recognizing a mental illness. It’s about learning to balance holistic well-being (typically including physical, mental, financial, social, and emotional aspects) and identifying your own personal wellness baseline. A person who struggles with a chronic mental health disorder will have a different baseline for holistic wellness than an individual who has diabetes, for example. Individuals who are not well physically for a prolonged period of time can develop mental illness as a symptom or side effect of their physical struggles or treatments. We have also learned that some physical diseases, allergies, or vitamin/mineral deficiencies can present with symptoms that would typically be attributed to a mental illness. Stress from financial struggles can impact mental and/or physical health, and can have an effect on social and emotional wellness. Many studies show that emotional effects of childhood trauma can manifest physical issues within the body, causing chronic nerve pain (neuropathy) as well as a number of different physical ailments and chronic mental health conditions.
Better mental health becomes the chicken or the egg scenario where the individual isn’t able to identify if they feel better because their mental health has improved or some other aspect of their well-being improving has led to improved mental wellness. This is largely because all are intertwined and connected, and unique to each individual.
By working to identify a holistic well-being baseline, individuals are able to identify when there has been a change in their health better and identifying far quicker if the shift is due to a temporary, or acute, circumstance that can be resolved more easily, or if there may be indication of a larger issue requiring a doctor’s visit or assistance elsewhere, such as financial assistance, therapy, or any number of resources.
It’s critical each individual builds their own arsenal of tools to stay holistically well and have a plan to address every level of care needed based on their personal needs (before it’s actually needed) whether it be preventive care, ongoing maintenance, acute occurrence, or crisis intervention.
Make sure you take the time to prioritize your holistic well-being. We must shift from comparing the importance of self-care to putting on your own oxygen mask before helping others to modeling self-care in your role as a partner, parent, relative, friend, leader, or colleague to encourage those around you to develop their own holistic well-being arsenal. The earlier we model this for children in our lives the better considering that half of the individuals who will develop a mental health condition in their life will do so by 14 with a diagnosis typically occurring 10 years after the first symptoms meaning they are likely struggling alone, unnecessarily. What works for you may not work for them and you absolutely can’t do it for them, but you can stay holistically well together. Valuing your wellness so you can bring your best self forward in everything you do will lead to a happier, healthier home, workplace, and community. It’s contagious so pass it on.
Contact us to learn more about how Centurion At Work can help your company encourage holistic well-being at every level of your organization and assist your employees to build their own individualized arsenal. Be well!
