Since 1949, Mental Health America and its affiliates have recognized the month of May as Mental Health Awareness Month, an observance raising awareness, providing support and resources, and reducing the stigma around mental health. Now more than ever, we must raise awareness about mental health, especially as more American teenagers are experiencing elevated levels of distress and a quarter of American adults are rating their mental health as fair and poor.
3 out of 5 high-school females report experiencing persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, up from 36% a decade ago. For males in that age range, feelings of hopelessness rose 8% to 29%. Besides teen mental health, adult mental health is dwindling. According to a new Gallup survey, only 31% of U.S. adults surveyed rated their mental health as “excellent.”
This year's theme for Mental Health Awareness Month is “Look Around, Look Within” as we consider every part of our environment and its effect on mental health and well-being. The COVID-19 pandemic took a toll on the mental well-being of many Americans, and despite getting out of the pandemic, we’re still dealing with a lot. Between our personal and professional lives, inflation, the constant trauma of mass shootings and the crisis in Ukraine, there’s still a lot going on. It’s easy to catastrophize with so much going on, so it's integral we continue to look within at our own mental health and work on our mental fitness.
This Mental Health Awareness Month, we plan to promote mental wellness, and how we can look within and around our environments and communities. The four themes we’ll be sharing and promoting on our social platforms throughout MHAM are as follows:
