‘You’re not alone’: Mental health advocates in DC spotlight Mental Health Awareness Month
May is Mental Wellness Awareness Month but D C Director of the Department of Behavioral Wellness Barbara Bazron is emphasizing that addressing mental well-being should be an everyday practice Bazron commented that since the pandemic the community does seem to be more aware of how central it is to take care of their mental strength as well as physical strength Bazron explained that there are a number of tactics people can reach out and get help Calling or texting is just one way to start the process She explained however that it s much more than a emergency line provides people with someone to call someone to talk to and a place to go if mental wellness services are needed We are available Somebody will answer that line any time of the day or night and they will not only just have a conversation to determine what your need is but connect you to the services that you need Bazron narrated WTOP Bazron mentioned the District has invested funding to address mental wellbeing issues noting that services are available in D C s community schools In addition to that the full array of services are available within the Residents Wellness Organization system and are really paid for by Medicaid so ability to pay should not be a barrier to care she disclosed Bazron mentioned there are a number of tactics to take care of your mental robustness that you can do on your own One is to make sure that we take care of our physical self by exercising doing something that we like to do well and that brings us contentment she reported Other things include having meaningful engagement with people around us she commented Talk to others about the way you feel and also practice mindfulness Mental wellness is key to overall fitness I want everyone to mind their mental wellness not just during the month of May but every day Bazron added You are not alone D C s mental vitality services includes the use of peer specialists people who ve addressed their own mental physical condition that went through training to become certified to help others Tanya Hawkins is one of those certified peer specialists Hawkins declared she was inspired to deal with childhood trauma when she was introduced to therapy in a group setting When I realized that I could also do this in a group setting and get advice and coping mechanisms and other skills from my peers I pretty much fell in love with all things related to mental well-being she noted And I ve wholly changed my entire lifestyle so that I can work in the field so I can be an encouragement to others If there s one thing Hawkins could emphasize to people she recounted WTOP it s this You are not alone and anything that you face you re never by yourself There s unfailingly a group of people who have shared experience and are willing to share their experience with you she added The experience that put Hawkins on the path to becoming a certified peer assistance specialist was a group session with women like her I experienced a conversation that blew my mind It opened up my world and let me know that I wasn t alone The second thing Hawkins revealed she learned and likes to share is Self-care is the bulk essential tool that you re going to have When people neglect their own requirements Hawkins reported You cannot take care of the people who are directly in your charge You won t be able to contribute as much to your group as what you have to offer and your own well-being suffers as a outcome Lastly Hawkins advised people to get involved in mental robustness awareness Specifically she s a big fan of having people of all ages involved in mental soundness first aid learning about mental strength strategies and helping young people learn methods to address their mental medical demands Hawkins pointed to the work of the National Council for Mental Wellbeing It s just one of those things that as a locality and as a nation really if we all were educated in this fashion the world be so much more of a better place she announced Source
