MAY IS MENTAL HEALTH MONTH

Mental Health America founded Mental Health Awareness Month in 1949 and has led the effort every May to promote mental wellness nationwide. Throughout this May, the therapists at Present Awakenings will share ways they have more good mental health days.

Joe Huey shares how he helps himself have More Good Days:

"A big part of my self-care work is reminding myself that I am a human outside of being a therapist. That is why I keep a small paper planner that I use for the personal details of my life. It acts more like a diary than an actual calendar. I regularly write down the event after it happens with my personal notes, such as “Dinner with friends on Wednesday, wish I had gotten the burger instead of the salad.” I started the practice, because I realized a lot of my memory capacity was devoted to client material. I could say the names of my client’s entire family, and yet I would forget if I even liked that restaurant I tried last week. Studies have shown that we are better at remembering information we have handwritten instead of typed, hence the paper planner (Van der Weel & Van der Meer, 2024). The practice provides me a view of my life outside of my professional obligations. 

My planner additionally helps me maintain a healthy perspective when life is too complicated. I am the type of person who has tunnel vision when overwhelmed. I take my regular accomplishments of folding the laundry and attending a book club for granted, because I am criticizing myself for not going to the gym enough. In these times, I use my planner as a means of appreciating myself. When having a week of self-doubts, I’ll list all of the chores I finished, movies I watched, and evenings spent with friends. Now the page is filled with all of the little things I do everyday without even thinking about them. 

In our society, there is a pressure to always be productive. We can never slack because laziness is the worst sin to the American mind. This planner is my way of pushing back on those tendencies. It views me as a human being with hobbies, friends, and mundane daily activities, all of which are enough."

Learn more about Joe in his bio and in this article.

---

Get additional ideas, information, and resources to promote your mental wellness and recognize May is Mental Health Month with Mental Health America.

Also, check out their Resource List which includes great crisis, mental health, and wellness resources.