Hello May, We Are Here for Mental Health Awareness Month

The first week of May is considered National Screen-free week.

This is an initiative to reduce our screen time and get outside. Being outside has a ton of health benefits from decreasing depression to increasing cognitive functioning. But, with the infamous year of 2020, screen time is now simply inevitable. 

Social media has become our source of social interaction and support. Zoom and Microsoft teams have been the new source for education. Doxy.me has become our healthcare provider. We can grocery shop from our phone. Children now chat with their friends in virtual hang-outs through video games like Roblocks and Among us. Screen time is inevitable and there is no reason for us to hold ourselves to this impossible expectation of unplugging completely.

Let’s try to be realistic and do our best to unplug when we can, but appreciate our new ability to plug in when we need to. 

May is mental health awareness month!

This is a month that is close to our heart. Mental health diagnoses are often suffered silently. The stigma around mental health is slowly dying down but is not gone by any means. The generations before us made talking about mental health extremely difficult, adding labels and subconscious judgement to mental illness.

This month is a time to reflect on the fact that approximately 1 in 5 of us will be diagnosed with a mental health disorder in our lifetime… and that is OKAY!

The new generation is breaking glass ceilings and tearing down walls of stigma to prioritize mental health as an important factor in our overall well being.

We like to consider therapy to be just as important as working out in the gym (except you are working out your brain). Before you begin a workout journey, you are going to need to understand the skills, the safety, and your starting point for reference. Those same rules and concepts can apply to therapy: we can equip you with the skills and tools you will need, so you can then succeed without us! 

Finally, May is for all the Moms!

With Mother’s day rounding the corner, we can take some time this month to dedicate ourselves to showing appreciation for all the moms out there. This month we will talk about mom guilt- what that may look like and how to overcome it, the imperfections of motherhood, and moms that may not be having the easiest journey to motherhood, whether that be IVF, fostering, or adoption. Modern medicine has given us the ability to combat infertility, though that does not make the journey any easier for those who are struggling with it.

Motherhood can be both exciting and terrifying, as there is so much unknown that comes with it. Taking the time to appreciate women for making the ultimate sacrifice to their bodies, minds, and social life, is simply the least we can do. 

We also want to acknowledge the moms who have lost babies, too. Whether it be before or after they were born, we want you to remind yourself that you matter. You are worthy of love and respect. You are still a mother.