The month of May is considered Mental Health Month where its purpose is to educate and spread awareness about mental health and wellness. As seen on many social media outlets, there are many organizations that hold campaigns to spread awareness and knowledge about mental illnesses and overall, it helps reduce the negative stigma and misconceptions that surround mental illnesses and mental health in general. In 2018, the theme for this year is Fitness #4Mind4Body which is a focus on how individuals can be more fit for our future health and wellness on our personal journeys. Past themes have included those such as addressing mental health, motivational efforts, and encouraging people to take responsibility for the prevention of mental health issues.
Mental health is extremely important to people of all ages in general. However, as a young adult and a student attending university, mental health becomes a huge issue in our community. In many college settings, there is a plethora of negative perceptions and misconceptions surrounding mental illness and mental health. It is extremely vital to educate people about mental health and how we can reduce the negative stigma that surrounds mental health. Also, raising awareness is an extremely key aspect of the education about mental health and wellness. It is very important to teach fellow students and citizens about mental health and mental illnesses that many people suffer from.
Focusing more on a college and university level, mental health is seen as a huge topic during our college journey. There are many students that suffer from mental illness for a variety of reasons and it is important for those who do suffer from mental illnesses to have the full support and resources they can get from others and especially from their own university. College students are bombarded with a new set of adult responsibilities, new people, new experiences, and overall a new stage in life. With all of this, comes the importance of maintaining a healthy relationship with the people around you and yourself, which is one of the reasons why mental health and wellness is extremely important for students.
In conclusion, for the month of May being Mental Health Awareness Month, and the theme being how we as individuals can be more fit for our own mental health and wellness, we should take actions to help educate and raise awareness for mental health. There are many organizations and social media outlets that hold numerous campaigns, however we as individuals can raise awareness and educate those around us with our own efforts. For the month of May, we as individuals should start to take more individualized actions to educate and raise awareness and create an impact that helps spread the word about mental health and how we can reduce the negative stigma and misconceptions that surround mental health, especially in universities and with college students.