May is Mental Health Awareness Month, a time to advocate for support, encourage an open conversation around mental wellbeing, and promote awareness through education and events. Mental Health Awareness Month is an annual observance created by Mental Health America (MHA) in 1949 to build a more supportive environment around mental health. In the early 1950s, mental health public conversation was rare, and it was heavily stigmatized, particularly around state hospital institutionalization.
Fast forward to 2025, and mental health education has progressed significantly. The topic of mental health now has widespread recognition on social media platforms, shifting perceptions, developing diverse treatment options, and increasing access to care. Gen Z's proactive approach is leading the change in how we prioritize mental health and work-life balance. Apps such as Calm, Headspace, and Happify are well-recognized, and medical carriers even offer these apps for free as an embedded benefit.
Here are three tips to assist in reducing mental health stigma for you, a loved one, or a work colleague:
- Awareness: Be alert to the warning signs.
For yourself and loved ones at home, some common alerts are sleep/appetite changes, mood changes, and withdrawal/isolation. At work, a co-worker might be coming in late, having trouble concentrating or being unusually emotional or frustrated with people. Learn more about warning signs HERE. - Self-care: Integrate holistic wellbeing daily.
Everything you do is connected – what you eat affects your mood and energy, the number of sleep hours affects your concentration, and getting regular exercise improves your health and boosts your mood. Studies on gratitude and wellbeing have shown greater social wellbeing, lower depression risks and favorable markers of cardiovascular health.
GoodRx has a fantastic self-care list to draw upon when you need some help. Read more. - We are stronger together: Utilize your Employee Assistance Program (EAP) resources.
Did you know your EAP program typically has three complimentary sessions per incident to support you on a wide range of personal and work-related issues such as stress, anxiety, relationship problems, and depression? EAP programs offer confidential short-term counseling and referrals to specialists if longer-term specialized care is needed.
Additionally, EAP’s provide crisis intervention with immediate support and resources in situations involving mental health. Finally, if self-education works for you, EAP’s also offer online resources and webinars on a variety of mental health and overall wellbeing topics that you can choose to watch at your convenience.
Mental Health Awareness Month also emphasizes the importance of early intervention and prevention. One of my favorite ways to promote mental health is to invite my friends to a yoga class. Not only is yoga a fantastic physical workout, but it does wonders for mental and physical relaxation as well. International Yoga Day is June 21, 2025, so I encourage you to take a class to experience the benefits for yourself. Learn more about yoga and its advantages HERE.
Mental health journeys are unique, but the strengths we find in them are universal.
If you have any questions about further mental health education and resources, please feel free to reach out to me directly.
Jennifer Green
Vice President of Wellbeing & Engagement
jgreen@venbrook.com
949.652.6327
