On January 31, 2024, Elmo said to followers via X/Twitter, “Elmo is just checking in! How is everybody doing?”
One response was “Elmo, we are tired.” Another was, “Elmo girl… I’m having a quarter life crisis right now and I can’t get my stuff together to finish this last semester. I’m mentally burnout out and I have a lifetime of working to go.”
The fact that many social media users responded to a fluffy Muppet about their mental health struggles says something (very loudly, I’d suggest) about the state of America’s mental health. We’ve got a crisis.
According to shortlister.com:
- 21% of American adults (about 50 million people) are dealing with mental illness
- 5.44% report experiencing a severe mental condition
- 4.8% of American adults report seriously considering suicide
As someone who has had their fair share of mental health challenges, which I addressed in my last mental health related blog, there’s much I’ve learned (and still am learning) about coping with mental health struggles. Here are a few highlights:
- Never feel afraid to reach out for help and talk about how you’re feeling. Falling into hyper-independence may feel good for a while, but you don’t need to feel that the only way to deal with problems is to bottle things up. Remember – it’s better out than in.
- Make time for “non-doing.” I recently started reading a book titled “Wherever you go, there you are”. The topic of “non-doing” is “the ability to simply let things be and allowing them to unfold in their own way.” Don’t sweat the small stuff, and if there’s big stuff to be sweating about, rest assured that it will all be figured out one way or another.
- Let yourself be upset for as long as you need, but don’t dwell in the doom of it all. Life is very hard, and no one ever said it would be easy. But how we cope with how we’re dealing mentally and physically is how we build resilience so we can tackle the next obstacle in front of us.
- Surround yourself with people who support you, rather than tear you down. Whether it’s your family, friends, or a romantic partner, being able to have people around who genuinely support you in your good moments and at times when you struggle makes a difference in your life. No one needs to be surrounded with negative put-downs, overly critical conversations, or unsolicited advice. Sometimes, we just want to air our grievances and move on and heal.
And lastly:
5.You don’t need to get everything done in one day. Learn to delegate tasks in both your home life and especially your work life. While this can also prove to boost your mental health, it will also boost your productivity, which is a double win.
Social media is a great tool to use to communicate with loved ones and friends and even give someone a space to take away the stigma from mental health awareness.
I’m grateful I work in an environment where positive well-being and mindfulness are promoted. Happy Mental Health Awareness Month.
SCG is an advocate for mental health awareness and supports the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. For more information on this organization, please visit https://afsp.org/. You are not alone.
