Mental Health Awareness Month

Did you know that May is mental health awareness month?

Mental illness is something that is often not discussed, the stigma of it being something that causes folks to shy away from conversation about it and those struggling to be embarrassed or ashamed of it.

I am 1 in 5 Americans. Yes, I struggle with mental health issues ..... namely an eating disorder, anxiety, and depression. It's no longer something I am ashamed of, however, but rather something I am proud of because I know that I have seen the depths and through courage and determination, am living a life where it no longer consumes me.

This year, thanks to COVID, there has been a significant increase in the number of those struggling but the goal of this May's campaign is to remind folks that they do not have to do this journey alone and that there is help out there. For more information, visit NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, at https://www.nami.org. Their hotline is 800-950-NAMI or text NAMI to 741741.

Today I DARE you to start the conversation and help take away the stigma. Mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of and, just as we wouldn't view the person who struggled with cancer as weak, neither should we think that way of those struggling with mental health issues.

Here's to breaking the stigma .... won't you join me in the fight?