Challenge: Learn about Mental Health

by Joshua R. Packard

I have been trying to think of what sort of things I can write about that will help people understand mental health and illness and treatment better.  I would like to help create a cultural, social situation where it is easier to ask for help regarding one’s own and other’s mental health.  I will be trying to write about this subject, and hopefully give some effective insight to make the discussion and understanding of mental health issues more widespread and of high quality.

Right now, I just wanted to propose a challenge to anyone reading this.  Just go out and learn about mental health.  Learn about mental illness, or just anything related to mental health.  Go and learn about different mental health issues, treatments, different kinds of therapy and programs.  Go look for a book on any mental health subject.  See if you can find documentaries, or videos online, if you are not much of a reader.  Look for podcasts.  Anything.  I am not going to try to restrict the limits of this challenge.  Just do something to learn about a mental health related topic.  Maybe you or someone you know has some kind of mental health condition.  Go and learn about that.  I just hope maybe I can help spark more interest in mental health and the people and issues related to it.  I will get into this more over time, but I just wanted to encourage as many people as possible to take the initiative to learn more about the subject, and engage in thinking and talking about it.  You probably know someone struggling with a mental health challenge.

Feel free to share this challenge with others, and encourage them to do something to learn more about mental health.