From 1949 to today, Mental Health America, a community-based nonprofit, has established the month of May as Mental Health Month. The theme for this year is said to be Tools 2 Thrive. The goal behind this theme is to provide useful tools that everyone can use to increase their resiliency and improve their mental health when facing personal struggles.
Prior to COVID-19, mental illnesses have been on the rise and today it is just as important to learn how to care for ourselves using tools that will be useful in the present and later in life. For this reason, Mental Health America has provided a free toolkit that anyone can access on their website: Mental Health America.
The topics that are discussed within the toolkit are:
Coping after a traumatic/stressful event
Healthy ways to deal with frustration and anger
Ways to avoid thinking traps
Getting comfortable in new situations
Making time for yourself and more
Being able to maintain good mental health is important because it has to do with our social, emotional, and psychological self. Our mental health affects the manner in which we think, behave, and feel, so we should not neglect it. If we end up neglecting our mental health it will become easier to neglect our physical health and in the end, both play an important role in our own well-being.
During these difficult times, it is even more important to stay well-informed so we can help encourage family, friends, and let's not forget, ourselves, of the many helpful resources we have access to! Keep in mind that the more awareness we bring to mental health, the closer we are to destigmatizing it.
Helpful Resources:
Works Cited
“Learn About Mental Health - Mental Health - CDC.” Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 26 Jan. 2018,
“Mental Health Month.” Mental Health America,
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