Mental Health Awareness Month

It is the best window period for most people to have zero-cost and low-threshold access to professional psychological support, break the emotional stigma, and conduct a "free annual check-up" for their own mental state. It is never a useless showpiece.

Last week, I was serving at a publicity month in a university, and I met a sophomore girl wearing black-rimmed glasses. She walked around the booth three times with her schoolbag in hand before coming over. She said that she had been suffering from insomnia and couldn't eat for two consecutive months. She always felt that she was "just tired from catching up recently, so I'm being pretentious." It wasn't until I saw the "Anxiety Self-Checklist" we put out that I realized that all of my symptoms were correct. She made an appointment for free consultation at the school's psychological center that day. This week she reported that she was making mindfulness adjustments and her sleep state was much better.

Of course, I have also heard a lot of complaints, saying that the mental health promotion of many units is just to put up a banner and send two popular science articles to the group, and that's it. There is not even a connection channel for consultation, it is just a show. This kind of controversy has been quarreling in the industry for many years: one group holds the view of "lightweight reach" and believes that even if it just allows everyone to see the word "mental health" a few more times and dispels the prejudice that "seeing a psychologist means you are sick", it will be considered a standard. ； The other group insists that accessible services must be implemented. Otherwise, a few empty slogans about "paying attention to mental health" will make people think that "emotional problems can be solved with a few popular science articles", which will deepen misunderstandings.

I have been doing psychological services in communities and universities for 6 years. To be honest, both views are reasonable. The core point is to see whether the activities are really designed from the perspective of ordinary people. Last year, I helped the neighborhood near my home with a publicity month plan. Instead of holding a large lecture filled with people, I set up a "Emotional Exchange Convenience Store" stall at the entrance of the community canteen, with a bunch of sticky notes printed with little suns on them. People could write down their troubles and post them on the display board, or they could just pick up coping tips left by others. I remember that day, a recently retired aunt wrote, "After my wife left, I was too lazy to even cook and felt that life was boring." Within half an hour, seven or eight replies were posted below. One said, "My home is in Building 3. I go to the park to do Tai Chi every morning. If you want, I will call you tomorrow." There was also a junior high school student who left a little tiger he drew and wrote, "Grandma, don't you think it's cute?" That day, 47 people took the initiative to inquire about free consultation channels, which was more consultations than the three mandatory lectures combined.

Many people have misunderstandings about Mental Health Awareness Month, thinking that it is "for people with mental illness" and has nothing to do with them. In fact, not at all. Most of the public welfare services open during the publicity month are originally prepared for ordinary people who "have not reached the level of clinical diagnosis, but just can't get motivated and feel panicked" - professionals who want to cry every day because they are rushing to meet KPIs, students who are so anxious before exams that they can't hold a pen, mothers who have an emotional breakdown when raising their children, and even elderly people who have recently quarreled with their family members and can't sleep. They can all find corresponding support. Many people don’t know that during the publicity month, many public psychological institutions and university psychological centers open public welfare consultations. They are held by registered psychologists or practitioners with nationally recognized qualifications. They strictly abide by the ethics of confidentiality. No registration is required, no money is spent, and the whole process can even be anonymous. There is absolutely nothing to worry about.

Of course, not all publicity month activities are useful. Last month, I came across a company’s cunning operation, which turned mental health promotion into a “stress coping ability assessment”, requiring all employees to complete 100 questions and score 80 points to be considered qualified. If they fail, they will have to make up the exam, which makes a bunch of already stressed employees even more anxious. In fact, the criterion for judging whether a publicity month activity is really useful is very simple: after being exposed to these contents, do you think "oh, it's normal for me to feel uncomfortable now, I can find a way to solve it", or do you think "I can't even manage my emotions well, so I failed too much". The former is really the right thing to do, while the latter is simply a formality of lazy politics.

This week I was running promotional sites in several middle schools and saw many children in school uniforms squatting in front of the "Emotional Tree Cave" display board to write notes. One little boy wrote crookedly, "My parents have been quarreling recently. I'm scared, but I dare not tell them." Within ten minutes, a passing psychology teacher left his contact information below and wrote, "If you feel uncomfortable, you can come to talk to me, and I can also help you contact a family counselor, all for free." You see, in fact, many changes are never earth-shattering events. It's just that one day you pass by a stall with colorful balloons and suddenly realize that the troubles you have been carrying around for a long time are not something shameful, nor are they something you can only shoulder. This is probably the most practical meaning of Mental Health Awareness Month.