May is Mental Health Awareness Month, but this shouldn’t just be a once-a-year conversation.
Signs of mental health struggles aren’t always something you can spot right away.
It looks different for everyone.
Sometimes it looks like exhaustion.
Sometimes it hides behind silence.
Sometimes it hides behind humor and laughter.
Sometimes it looks like showing up even when you are mentally checked out.
Sometimes it looks like the person you’d never expect— the person in the room who seems to be the “strong one” because they are always laughing and present.
It feels like we’ve gotten good at hiding what’s really going on behind closed doors. Avoiding conversations, running on no sleep, and carrying the pressure of feeling lost while trying to navigate through life.
Trying to keep your emotions together while everything around you feels like it’s falling apart can be draining, but you are not alone in that feeling.
Awareness is something we need more of, but without honesty, things don’t significantly change.
Therefore, take this as a reminder:
Take time for yourself. (You are allowed to give yourself that.)
Ask for help. (There will always be someone you can have those difficult conversations with.)
Set boundaries. (It’s okay—you control your life.)
Journal. (Even if it’s 3AM.)
Be honest with yourself.
Healing looks different for everyone. Do it your way.
Your life is in your hands.
You are the only one who really knows how much weight you carry on your shoulders.
So if you take away anything from this, let it be this: find joy in the progress you’ve made.
Small progress is still progress.
Mental Health Awareness Month is every month. You shouldn’t have to reach your breaking point in order to start taking things seriously. Every day, we live with the effects that mental health can have on us, so taking care of our well-being isn’t optional, it’s necessary!
So check on your people, and take care of yourself too.
