Celebrate You!

Mental Health Awareness Month

May 10, 2023

The month of May is one of my favorite months of the year.   The weather is getting warmer, flowers are blooming, and the birds are chirping.  May is also the month we celebrate school coming to an end for our children, graduates, Mother’s Day, and honor those who lost their life defending our country.  The month of May is also mental health awareness month.  Throughout my few years of being a therapist I’ve noticed that many people don’t celebrate their mental health but almost criticize it.  We have all noticed more awareness being raised in our communities and more people are having conversations about mental health which is wonderful, but we do very little celebrating when it comes to our mental state.  Why is this?

We are constantly comparing ourselves to others, I’m guilty as well.  We all want to accomplish more or just do more in general, sometimes to the point of exhaustion.  We essentially celebrate working ourselves to the point where there becomes a decline in our mental health.  Our family and friends may start to notice that we’re less social, sleeping more, feeling on edge or irritable, over or under eating, etc. The problem is we don’t do enough celebrating.  We need to celebrate even the smallest victories, for some it could be just getting out of bed that day or going for a short walk.  I honestly don’t feel that we give ourselves enough credit for just living.  Let’s be real, life is HARD, and everyone’s hard looks different.  I believe that we all have this unrealistic expectation that life is a ‘walk in the park’, but we all know that’s not true. 

When meeting with clients I like to focus on our mindset as this is one of the most powerful tools that we have to offer ourselves.  If we have a positive mindset, we are more likely to have positive experiences and vice versa.  To have the mindset that our small accomplishments are victories is something that should be celebrated as well.  It’s important to provide praise to ourselves just as we would others, and to be kind to yourself.

As you go through each day of May and celebrate all the wonderful things this month brings, please remember, be kind to yourself and celebrate you! 

Written by:

Tarren Wilkey, CSW

Please note that if you are experiencing an emergency or mental health crisis please contact the crisis line at 1-800-273-8255, 988, or call 911.