Mental Illness Awareness Week

With Mental Illness Awareness Week coming up next week I wanted to talk a bit about how we can make the most of this time. Perhaps mental illness is something that you don’t struggle with, but many people do. In my city, since the pandemic there have been a lot mental health issues. There have been more suicides, domestic violence and other mental health issues.  

Mental illness is not an easy thing to talk about. I believe that it is a topic that is avoided in our society, something that should not be discussed. There is a lot of stigma regarding mental health and mental illness. But that does not mean that it is not around us or affects us.

My hope is that during this week we can all take time to reflect. Perhaps this is reflecting on our own biases about mental illness or where we are personally struggling with our mental health. Do you know someone who is struggling with mental illness? What has your own experience been with mental illness? Becoming curious about our own health and the health of others can be a very eye-opening experience.

What can we do to Prepare?

What can we do to prepare for Mental Illness Awareness Week? I believe that it’s taking the time to evaluate our own mental health. Looking at our life, our habits and our stress level by evaluating what is bringing joy to our lives and what is causing us unhappiness.  

By having awareness about our struggles, we can look at creating habits that will get us where we want to be.

You may not be struggling with mental health, but perhaps it affects somebody that you know. You can’t fix the other person, but becoming more educated about mental illness can help you support them as they heal.

What Practices can we put in Place to Help our Mental Health?

What practices can we put in place to help our mental health? My personal habit is that I’m working towards is a creativity habit that allows reflection. By slowing down and becoming more mindful we can work through some of the stressors that are affecting our mental health.

When it comes to starting a creativity habit, this month is a great month to start as Inktober starts this week.  

What is Inktober?

What is Inktober? Inktober is a month long art challenge focusing on developing good drawing habits. There is a prompts list posted and it’s a lot easier to start a drawing habit when you have a topic to help focus your creativity. I started to work on my drawing skills a bit last year and Inktober was very helpful for building a drawing habit. Instead of staring at a blank piece of paper, it gave me ideas for what to draw. I didn’t do every drawing for Inktober, but I felt that it helped me work on building my skills.

The Traveler’s Journal

So what if you don’t draw? You don’t have to be able to draw to have a creative outlet. For a long time I believed that I had to be able to paint and draw well to be considered an artist or creative person. I don’t believe that is the case anymore. We all have creativity and self-expression inside of us. Expressing it can be such a mental release and restorative practice.

I have recently started using a Traveler’s Journal as part of my self-care practice. What I love about them is that you can use them as a straight writing journal or you can add pictures, drawings or make them into a scrapbook. There are no rules, and it can be whatever you want it to be.

My Traveler’s Journal

For my traveler’s journal I’m focusing on using multiple mediums to express the idea of finding beauty in the everyday moments. I’m using pictures, stamps and beautiful papers that I have on hand. I’m also going to use the Inktober prompts to help me come up with sketches to add into my journal. We don’t need to limit ourselves. It is choosing ways that we can journal creatively and find beauty every day.

My hope is that during this Mental Illness Awareness week you can build some habits to help with your mental health. By finding ways to care for ourselves, we also care for those around us better. In the week ahead I will be diving more into the mental health journey and hope that you can join me as we discuss some important topics.

Mental Illness and Mental Health Resources

If you feel like you may be struggling with mental health concerns or mental illness, there are some very good resources available.

Canada-wide Mental Health Resources: https://www.ccmhs-ccsms.ca/mental-health-resources-1

Canadian Mental Health Association: https://cmha.ca/

National Institute of Mental Health: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/index.shtml

How About You?

So how about you? Are you working on any habits that help with your mental wellness? I would love to hear what you do to build a self-care habit in your own life.