Economic stress isn’t the only factor when it comes to mental health issues. We all know people with plenty of financial resources who struggle, just like we know professional athletes who exercise all the time and still struggle. That being said, we would be stupid not to acknowledge the increased risk.
My favorite takeaway from this is that self-care is an everyday thing. It’s not something we plan to do; if the stress gets bad enough, it’s the actions we take every day for ourselves. Think of it like brushing your teeth. You do it every day because it keeps your teeth healthy; you don’t wait until they are dirty enough that they need a dentist’s attention to decide now is a good time to start brushing them.Â
Find ways to take care of yourself every day, and do them. Those are the tools that will help you when times are stressful and anxiety-inducing. You are worthy of that.Â
What are the ways in which you take care of yourself regularly?
Schools in poor areas where students are likely to be dealing with instability at home and poverty all around them have different mental health needs than kids living in a wealthy suburb. Programs designed to help families in poverty should be part of school mental health programs. As I’ve said many times, you can’t meditate or exercise your way out of poverty. A full-service mental health program would recognize the impact that something like poverty has on kids.Â
I love the idea that healing can be messy. Most truly human things worth doing are messy and chaotic. We weren’t made to only do easy things, but we are made to grow and heal.Â
When men display anger, anxiety, and irritation, we tend not to think of it as depression, but it very well can be.Â
This study taught me something, though. That kind of depression, which we refer to as “masculine,” is not something that only men can display, so we ought to consider how many people across the gender spectrum may be suffering from depression and not recognizing it.Â
It’s easy to talk about supporting mental health, but is it too much to ask that we fund the resources needed to provide that and allow them to exist in our neighborhoods?Â
