Bonnie Lane: Together, we can have better mental health

Green is the color of spring, a symbol of life. Green is also the international symbol for mental health awareness, which is also all about life. Perhaps that’s why May, when our trees and flowers are blossoming, is designated as Mental Health Awareness Month.

This year’s Mental Health Awareness Month theme is “More Good Days, Together,” focusing on building community support, encouraging collective wellness, and reducing the stigma that, unfortunately, still surrounds mental illness.

Three major mental health organizations have slightly different approaches to this theme, but they all add up to the same idea: community.

Mental Health America (mhanational.org), a large support organization with branches around the country, started the May observance in 1949. Mental Health America Illinois (mhai.org), which is based in St. Charles, can be reached at (312) 368-9070.

Their focus is that there is no health without mental health. They point out that one in every five people experiences a mental health condition each year, and five in five manage their mental health every day. In other words, we need to normalize struggles with mental health because everybody has something going on.

SAMSHA (samsha.gov), a mental health support organization under the federal government, highlights early intervention, specifically recognizing mental health signs in children and youth. It also aims to reduce stigma so people will seek services without feeling ashamed. Their overall theme is “See the Person, Support the Journey.”

Week by week, they build on their theme. Learning about severe mental illness leads to compassion. Early support matters. Words matter and words can heal. Connection is a powerful form of care.

“Words matter” is particularly important. Thoughtful words create space for connection and let people know we are available to them, we hear them, and we are on board. This type of connection decreases stigma and may make someone more willing to seek therapy or mental health support.

For NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (nami.org), the theme is “Stigma grows in silence. Healing begins in community.” Silence looks like isolation and avoidance. Community looks like being together to support one another, whether we have personally experienced a similar mental health issue, or just care about those who do.

NAMI’s program, “In Our Own Words,” features people making presentations to communities of mentally ill individuals or their families, sharing their lived experience to fight stigma.

Mental illness is a medical condition that affects every aspect of daily life: diet, work, sleep, relationships. Mental health and physical health are entwined, and, as Mental Health America emphasizes, “Mental health IS health.”

Our current economic and political climate is causing more stress for individuals and families, and stress is a key factor in mental illness. When people experience housing insecurity, can’t afford gas to get to work, can’t pay for day care or groceries, it increases stress. And this stress can lead to other diagnosable mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression. Access to stable housing, employment assistance, health care and community programs improves long-term stability and well-being.

These mental health organizations offer many types of assistance themselves, or they can point someone in the right direction. Most importantly, they let people feel heard and respected, making it more likely they will seek therapy and stick with it.

We all have a part to play. Understanding various mental illnesses can help you understand and be empathetic. “Bipolar,” “schizophrenic” and “psychotic” are bandied about in daily conversation, with most people not even knowing what these serious diagnoses mean. Pop culture has made these words into an insult, without regard for the sufferers.

Communication can be helpful or harmful. Don’t armchair diagnose your family or friends. Be supportive in the way they need you to be supportive, such as helping them identify resources, driving them to appointments or being another set of ears at the psychiatrist’s office.

It’s also important to demonstrate that we are caring for ourselves, too, and seeking help when we need it.

Almost every community organization is having Mental Health Awareness Month activities, so it’s a good time to get involved. Isolation, which can lead to mental health symptoms, is a characteristic of our society today as more people live alone, politics divides us, and social media replaces close relationships.

In this environment, we must remember: Together, we’re all stronger. And then we’ll have “More Good Days, Together”!

• Bonnie Lane, M.S., is principal consultant with Family Support Services in Northbrook, specializing in supporting families whose loved ones suffer from severe mental illness or substance addiction. Daily Herald readers can contact her at (847) 651-1554 or bonnielane@thefamilysupportservices.com.