Ending the stigma with Minding Your Mind
When it comes to mental health, I am all about it. Yes, my job is a therapist and my life's work has become mental health, but advocacy is the biggest tool for awareness. Coming out of pandemic times, we hear about mental health everywhere. Online. Radio. Schools. EVERYWHERE.
As much as it is discussed, what is being done to address the issue? Though it is now a regularly discussed topic, it does not come without attached negative feelings and stereotypes. There are those out there who still misunderstand, fear, and ridicule those with mental health diagnoses. Which groups are there to spread the message on mental health and mental wellness? Who can you turn to in order to help spread a message of hope and provide actual information on mental health disorders?
I have been given the great opportunity to work with a company whose mission is exactly this, Minding your Mind.
Minding Your Mind is an organization that provides educational programs that inform the community at large about mental health in order to remove the stigma. Their programs provide vital information on symptoms and services for mental health disorders. This moves the focus on prevention instead of intervention which can be crucial when dealing with mental health. The National Institute of Mental Health reports that mental illness effects 1 in 5 adults in varying degrees of severity. When mental illness goes untreated and reaches a severe level, a person might turn to more permanent solutions like suicide. Suicide ranks as the second highest cause of death for those ages 10-14 as well as individuals ages 25-34. According to the research presented on the Minding Your Mind website, 90% of those who die by suicide have one of more diagnosed psychiatric disorder. With this in mind, prevention is crucial to not only save lives but improve the quality of life for many who are out there already.
Minding Your Mind has a multileveled approach by offering programs aimed at serving different groups in different modes. For example, students have different options of programs they can participate in like Changing Minds: Stories over Stigma, Kind Minds, Finding Your Way to Mental Health and Resilience, and "My Perfect Life" Book and Pacing Guide. While three of these offerings are in presentation formats, the last selection is a program that can be bought and completed by a school district at their own pace. Adults have a bigger variety of options in programming from presentations about general mental health information or specific topics like trauma, anxiety, and mindfulness. In addition to in person presentation programs, Minding Your Mind has created an online education program which allows a school to stream and replay presentations with the option of additional materials like worksheets and supplemental handouts. This past year has seen there reach grow to include a series to help teachers by empowering them with tools to create a compassionate climate as well as help in creating sustainable self care practices.
I have been working with Minding Your Mind for almost three years now. I present four of their programs: Kind Minds, Just Talk About It, and both of their Empowering Educator workshops. Minding Your Mind's website details Kind Minds as a program that "teaches children how to identify their emotions, engage in kind acts, and build empathy, increasing their understanding of how their emotions impact their thoughts and behaviors." Kind Minds is aimed to grades from kindergarten to 4th grade. It is super fun to present. I get to embody a variety of roles like teacher, actress, and clinician by educating them on their emotions while having fun. The kids become engaged with talking about how their own feelings effect them and relate to the skills they use in order to feel better. This hour long presentation even has us complete an experiment where we test out 4-7-8 breathing as a coping skill!!
The other presentation I have done for the community is Just Talk About It. The website describes this program as "perfect for adult audiences, this is an introductory mental health education program hosted by a clinician that features a young adult speaker." One way this program has been presented is to parents as a way to introduce the young adult speakers who have been talking to their kids and equip them with more tools to help their youth. This program provides information on anxiety, depression, and suicide. The statistics are staggering but provides the truth that parents may not have known and opens up mental health as an issue everyone needs to understand. One major myth busted in the presentation is that we need to talk about suicide because this isn’t introducing a new idea into their kids head, they already may be thinking about it. My favorite part is the young adult speakers. They tell their stories of dealing with mental health issues ranging from depression, grief, school stressors, substance use and bring us all on a journey of discovery as well as redemption. I have heard a few different speakers and each time, they enthralled me and brought vivid snapshots that highlighted the faceless facts I had mentioned to the group just a few minutes before. These are powerful stories and I have had the honor of hearing so many of them that I will never forget. They become a face for mental health that the parents might not have been able to envision prior to the event. After the young adult speaker, there is a time for questions and the community can ask about the things they want to know. Some questions can be about supporting their kids and other tools they can use to help. Both the clinician and the young adult speaker answer the questions using their specific lenses. This program can also be given to communities as a way to inform them about mental health.
The newest programs are the Empowering Educators series. I always like to include that this was a grant funded program from Jersey Mike’s since they saw the need to support educators after everything that happened with education through the pandemic. Creating a climate of compassion speaks upon the need to create a high trust system and make vulnerability the go to in school communities. It helps educators understand that are the first line for each other and can help foster a safe place for themselves. The Sustainable Self care program helps educators create a sustainable self care routine. I particularly like this one because it flips the regular convention of what we see self care as and opens new opportunities for educators to give themselves rest.
Overall, these presentations address the need for information to students as well as community members. The presentations contain crucial information that can help those struggling to understand what mental health and wellness really means for everyone. I can see the impact of these presentations first hand and have seen the cogs turning for many.
If you are interested in looking into Minding Your Mind and booking a presentation, you can access their website at mindingyourmind.org. You can also find them on their social media outlets below:
IG: https://www.instagram.com/mindingyourmind/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/mindingyourmind
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MindingYourMind
LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/company/minding-your-mind/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmEpbecNeEzNClHbni40D6w/videos
“The views, beliefs, statements, and opinions expressed on this blog are entirely my own and do not express the views of Minding Your Mind, except where those are explicitly quoted. Minding Your Mind, its directors, employees, consultants, and associates are free from any liability in this regard. For official news from Minding Your Mind, visit their website atwww.mindingyourmind.org.”
