Mental Health Awareness Month (MHAM) is in May! Alpha Chi Omega is committed to providing educational resources and programming to promote a positive relationship with mental health for our members and within our chapter. Each week, members were encouraged to take steps to benefit their mental health and commit to taking action to improve it. By shifting from awareness to action, we can make mental health a priority for ourselves, our sisterhood and our community. Each week in May, we worked to share ideas for how to support sisters in taking action for their mental well-being around weekly mental health themes.
May 1-7 LEARN THE FACTS
Did you know how common mental illness is? One in five U.S. adults experience a mental illness each year, and 50% of adults will be diagnosed with a mental health condition in their lifetime. Understanding the prevalence of mental health can help bring attention to its commonality in our everyday lives. Ways you can learn about mental health include:1. Educating yourself about mental health facts and statistics 2. Learning to recognize the warning signs and symptoms of a mental health condition 3. Sharing facts about mental health on your social media 4. Reading about Alpha Chi Omega’s mental health initiatives and national partnerships on the Mental Health Education page
MAY 8-14 END THE STIGMA
Talking about Mental Health makes a difference. Normalizing our emotions and educating ourselves about how to talk about our wellbeing with others helps to make conversations about mental health easier. Actions we each take to end the stigma around mental health are listed below. This week as a chapter we led the Chords of Harmony mental health program lesson.
1. Visiting the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (988) website to learn what happens when you call the lifeline 2. Learning how to talk about mental health with a friend 3. Take a mental Health Screening
WEEK OF MAY15-21: AWARENESS TO ACTION
Raising awareness about mental health is just as important as taking action. No action is too big or too small when it comes to your mental health – any step toward improving it is a positive one! Consider these ideas for how to promote action on mental health:
- Members attended the “Take a Mental Break” with Active Minds webinar to learn how to advocate for mental health and end the stigma around seeking help for mental health from a trained mental health professional!
- As a Chapter, we printed and hung Alpha Chi Omega’s “Take What You Need” flyer in our chapter facility. We encourage anyone reading to print and hang in their facility or home.
- As a chapter, we shared the Validate-Appreciate-Refer tool and encouraged our sisters to practice validating others and shared with sisters how to complete the mental health reset activity.
THURSDAY, MAY18: MENTAL HEALTH ACTION DAY
Alpha Chi Omega HQ partnered with MTV for the third annual #MentalHealthAction Day to shift the culture of mental health from awareness to action. This year the call to action is to commit one hour for yourself, a loved one or your community to improve mental health. Take control of your mental health and advocate for mental well-being by: Making a plan for how you will spend one hour dedicated to mental health. Your time is flexible – take it in a whole 60-minute period or separate it into IS-minute intervals. Here are eight mental health actions to help you start brainstorming!
WEEK OF MAY22-28: PRACTICE SELF-CARE
Self.care isn’t selfish – it’s a necessary part of protecting your emotional health to reduce stress and function at your best. Learning how to cope effectively and manage you emotional well-being restores your mental health and can prevent severe mental health challenges from occurring. Several strategies for practicing self.care on a regular basis are:
- Discovering new self.care practices to care for your mental health
- Listening to Alpha Chi Omega’s Mental Health playlist
- Taking a mental health break with Alpha Chi Omega coloring pages
WEEK OF MAY 29-31: CREATING CONNECTION
Keep the mental health movement going by connecting yourself and others to national and local mental health resources. No matter if you are thriving in your mental health or experiencing a mental health challenge, professional support is available to help you foster a positive relationship with your emotional health. Empower one another to connect with mental health resources through:
- Exploring tips for finding a culturally competent mental health therapist
- Identifying where to locate affordable mental health care services in your area
- Seeking out help from trained counseling professionals to improve your personal mental health
- Learning about national mental health resources available to assist with treatable mental health conditions
BE PART OF THE #AXOMENTALHEALTHMATTERS MOVEMENT
We ask those reading to join us and share mental health initiatives throughout the month of May using the hashtag #AXOMentalHealthMatters on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Don’t forget to tag Alpha Chi Omega headquarters (@AlphaChiOmegaHQ) and FSU Alpha Chi Omega (@FSUAlphaChiOmega
NEED HELP WITH YOUR MENTAL HEALTH?
Contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (988) for 24/7, free, confidential conversations with trained mental health professionals from its network oflocal crisis centers.
Learn more about Alpha Chi Omega’s mental health education and resources on the Mental Health Education page.
FSU Alpha Chi Omega 