Mental health is a passion of mine, but I believe that everyone can benefit from awareness and learning more about the minds of themselves and others. Below you will find resources ranging from background information on mental illness, to must read books, news articles, recent statistics on mental health, and ways in which you can being to take care of your own mental well-being. I encourage everyone to take the time to care for your own mental, physical, and emotional health, and I hope that these resources provide you with the stepping stones to do so!
Mental Heath Statistics:
This video is rather insightful, as it provides a good representation of the impact that mental illness has on our society. Often times people feel as though they are alone, however these illnesses are more common than most people realize, and the more awareness that is brought to them the more we can fight the stigma and increase access to behavioral healthcare. This video in particular also lists some preventative measures, and ideas as to how to obtain help if you believe you are in need of professional advice. Created by Healthery in 2018, this video is a reliable and updated educational source, however it should be noted that it cannot be used for direct medical advice, but rather as an informational tool and a guide as to possible next steps for you or a loved one.
What is Mental Health:
https://www.mentalhealth.gov/basics/what-is-mental-health
This is a comprehensive website covering different diagnoses of mental illness affecting the world today. If you, or someone you know is unsure of whether or not you are struggling with mental illness, or if you would just like more knowledge on the subject this is a great starting point. From here you can also find links to more specific resources on the mental illnesses that you are interested in learning more about, as well as other tools such as support groups, treatment options, statistics, and so on. This is a reliable resource for anyone looking to learn more on the topic of behavioral health, as it is continually updated by professionals, frequently cited by other sources, and grounded on scientific research. With the main purpose of increasing knowledge regarding behavioral health and mental illnesses, this is a highly relevant and readable resource for both the general public and other healthcare professionals.
Recommended Books:
- Public Mental Health – William W. Eaton
- The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat – Oliver Sacks
- How Your Mind Can Heal Your Body – David R. Hamilton
Each of these books was written by one, or multiple, scientists in the fields of psychology and/or neuroscience. Public Mental Health is focuses on the need for behavioral healthcare professionals and the importance of mental well-being, whereas The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat takes you through an in depth analysis of the experience of someone with mental illness. And finally, How You Mind Can Heal Your Body dives into the relationship between mental and physical well-being. Each of these books is unique, and offer current information and scientific data to support their claims. These books are wonderful individually, however I recommend all three because together they will give you different perspectives from the minds of researchers, clinicians, and patients themselves, all-in-all aiding in a comprehensive overview of mental illness and its impact on individuals and society as a whole.
11 Small but Important Ways to Take Care of Your Mental Health:
https://www.self.com/story/take-care-of-your-mental-health
This is a lovely article on ways in which you can implement self-care into your daily routine. We often think of self-care as something that must take a lot of time and effort, but as you will see it’s sometimes the simplest things that can make the most impact. One of the preventative measures for mental illness that is recommended by professionals is to stay on top of your mental, physical, and emotional well-being, and that is why this is such a vital resource to share and put in practice immediately!
The Most Recent Mental Health Headlines:
https://www.nami.org/press-media/in-the-news
This news resource it rather exciting, especially if you want to stay updated on the latest findings! Here you will find the most recent news articles pertaining to mental health from all over the world. NAMI is a renowned organization, and although the news articles themselves are not necessarily written by NAMI they are hand-picked to be shared on their webpage, and thus serve as a reliable source of information. Each article takes you directly to the news page from which the information was obtained from, so to further validate the findings you can find what resources were cited for each article, who the specific author was, and what the purpose of the article was if you would like to use it as a source of information for yourself or for others.