Why MHAM Needs More Recognition

It is the month of May, and you know what that means?! That’s right, it is Mental Health Awareness Month (MHAM). Now for the last few years, I have done this series since part of my blog’s focus is on mental health. However, there may be a lot of people who are not familiar with this special month. Sure, there are other months like Black History Month, Asian-American, Pacific Islander Month, and even Pride month, but MHAM isn’t popular among those. Therefore, I am kicking off this year’s series explaining why MHAM should get more recognition by sharing some statistics and facts related to mental health. Hopefully, by the end of this post, more of you will have a better understanding of the importance of mental health.

1. What is Mental Health, Really?

According the World Health Organization (WHO) fact sheet, mental health is defined as “a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community.” It is also an “integral component of health and well-being” but most importantly, a “basic human right.” Mental health is just as important as our physical health, but has sadly been ignored or disregarded by a majority of our society. Yes, a huge population of the world still struggle with mental health issues, but we can change that by advocating for better support and resources. Being considered a basic right means that we can stand up and advocate for more support just like any other rights. We have the power to protect and manage it, even if we have to say no to certain things just to prioritize our needs first. Mental health impacts all aspects of our life whether it be at home, school, or work.

Source: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health-strengthening-our-response/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw0MexBhD3ARIsAEI3WHLczs4DKQJCLrL1KeTohiITLAwZ_yRglA9d-Y2q3G9rBm24zmXwUT8aAmyPEALw_wcB

2. Anxiety Disorders Among the Most Common Mental Illnesses in America

The number of US adults with anxiety disorders sits at 42.5 million with 31.6% being the lifetime prevalence of any anxiety disorder. This is very alarming that a huge number of people are struggling with anxiety disorders. There might also be a large percentage of people who might not know they have an anxiety disorder. Honestly anxiety can really mess with us when things go terribly wrong. Even the thought of something bad happening can trigger anxiety. I wanted to bring this up considering I usually experience anxiety from time to time. Furthermore, having anxiety can lead to further mental health problems such as depression, substance abuse, and even suicide. With the growing number of people living with an anxiety disorder, it is even more important to advocate for better resources to improve mental health especially ones that have anxiety. Speaking of which, cue that “anxiety” song that has been trending recently (if you know, you know).

Source: https://mhanational.org/resources/quick-facts-and-statistics-about-mental-health/

3. Mental Health in the Workplace Needs to be Taken Seriously

For this next reason, I am going to share a few statistics since I can highly relate to this in my career. Nearly half of employees said their mental wellbeing declined in 2022, while 28% said they are miserable at work. This is no surprise considering we are coming out of the pandemic and many people are gradually heading back to work in-person. It is no wonder why there has been increased amount of workplace stress recently. More companies should really be making an effort to support the mental well-being in all of their employees. People aren’t meant to be working every single minute of their life, rather they should try to achieve a work-life balance. However, that can’t be possible if a lot of working environments are toxic. I might have mentioned this one of my old posts, but if people are burnt out with low morale, then production in the workplace is going to be really low. To add to this, around 12 billion working days are lost every year to depression and anxiety, globally. I know I sound like a broken record, but I have been in this situation before, and I definitely DO NOT want that happening to myself or anyone else. To any company who has strong mental health support and happy employees, kudos to you for making your workplace environment safe. And as always, if you are working in a toxic work environment do your best to get out of there right away.

Source: https://www.spill.chat/mental-health-statistics/workplace-mental-health-statistics

4. Even the Mental Health of High School Students is Important (TW: Suicide

Reported from the CDC, in 2023, 40% of US high school students reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness in the past year while 20% were reported considering attempting suicide with 9% attempting suicide in the past year. I totally understand this; high school sucks to be honest. I had a terrible time myself which explains mental health getting negatively impacted here. The ongoing academic pressures along with constant bullying can contribute to the decline of mental health in high school students. What is even sad is that many high schools don’t have reliable therapists to help students with these types of challenges. It is very crucial that mental health in schools is taken as a top priority just like in the workplace environment. I mean, why make high school any more difficult when students are dealing with a lot?! For any high school student out there (especially seniors), I hope you are taking the time to care of yourselves. I know high school is very stressful, but you have the entire rest of your life afterwards so don’t worry too much. Besides everything you are experiencing in high school now won’t matter as much in the future.

Source: https://www.cdc.gov/children-mental-health/data-research/index.html#:~:text=40%25%20reported%20persistent%20feelings%20of,report%20ever%20using%20illicit%20drugs.

5. And Lastly, These Last Few Years Have Been Rough

Yep, it is pretty obvious that these last five years in this decade have been difficult. Starting with the 2020 pandemic lockdowns, and continuing with ongoing natural disasters, political turmoil, and other bad things that have been constantly happening. Even during the lockdowns, mental health was a high priority, and should still be going forward. Speaking of which, I am sure a lot of you (including myself) still have pandemic-related PTSD. This decade really took a huge toll on everyone’s mental health, and it hasn’t made things much easier. I honestly don’t know how these next few years are going to go, but the only thing we can control is our mental health. Going back to the first reason, mental health is a basic human right.

Those are some of my few reasons why MHAM (Mental Health Awareness Month) needs more recognition. I hope you now have a better understanding of why this month is so important, and help support for better mental health resources. Just because we only dedicate one month to mental health, doesn’t mean we stop advocating after it ends. We continue to help ourselves, and those around us facing mental health issues. Until then, please make sure to take care of yourselves and don’t be afraid to reach out for help. Be on the lookout for more posts in my MHAM series, or look at my past mental health posts by following @pressure.shock. However, I am currently taking an annual social media break as part of my MHAM tradition (and to avoid spoilers for Marvel’s The Thunderbolts*).

For information on mental health resources near you, please visit the National Alliance on Mental Illness, or NAMI at NAMI.org 

If you or someone is experiencing a mental health crisis, please call or text the National Suicide Lifeline at 988.