May is Mental Health Awareness Month

By Pastor Dean Rudloff,

The Lake County Mental Health Task Force, The North Shore Mental Health Group

While mental health is important to ad­dress year-round, Mental Health Awareness Month provides a dedicated time for people, organizations, and communities to join their voices to broadcast a message about men­tal well-being. This week’s message from The Lake County Local Mental Health Task Force and The North Shore Mental Health Group focuses on Mental Health and Self-care.We all have mental health, and it is im­portant for us to take care of ourselves. Self-care is the practice of taking care of oneself. It takes purposeful effort, but it can help with maintaining or improving your daily mental well-being. It is important to note that self-care is not a selfish act and doesn’t have to be time consuming or expensive. It can be what­ever you make it and is an intentional way to love yourself. There are many different forms of self-care, and it is important for you to find out what works best for you. Below are a few different forms of self-care, according to the Mental Health Coalition:

• Physical Care addresses stress that lives in your body. Such care alleviates physical pain or tension that either causes or results from mental stress. This can include mas­sage, fitness, dance, aromatherapy, rest, and pampering.
• Emotional Care involves tending to your own internal emotional world – especially your mood and feelings. This can include connecting with others, psychotherapy, journaling or creative writing, and art.
• Cognitive Care engages in activities that are intellectually rewarding and/or stimulating. This can include reading, writing, listening to books or podcasts, watching films, and psychotherapy.
• Spiritual Care can take many different forms and does not have to be tied to formal reli­gion. It means getting in touch with the less tangible aspects of yourself and the world around you. This can include: church and worship, prayer, meditation, breathing, and even work.

To better take care of yourself, identify a few different forms of self-care that you would like to try or have tried and liked, schedule a time to engage in and enjoy these forms of self-care, and continue regularly un­til it becomes a part of your daily life. Your mental health is no different than your phys­ical health and just like you do things to stay physically healthy, brushing your teeth, eat­ing well, going to the doctor, there are things you can do every day or on a regular basis to stay mentally healthy. The JED Founda­tion (https://jedfoundation.org/practice-self-care/) has a variety of resources to help you find some ideas to consider to add to your self-care practice.Throughout the month of May the Minnesota Department of Health is featuring a training that you can participate in to help others who may be experiencing life challenges or suicidal experiences. On May 8 at 11 a.m. go to: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/how-to-develop-and-maintain-a-well­ness-plan-a-tool-for-holistic-wellbeing-tick­ets-601630552177  to learn how to develop and maintain a Wellness Plan. The session is aimed at providing hope and resilience re­garding our own mental health and help you recognize signs of struggle within ourselves through the holistic approach of the 8 Dimen­sions of Wellness.