Young or old, rich or poor, everyone faces struggles regarding mental health sometimes.
And in recent years, we’ve all been through a lot, especially children. It has left parents feeling helpless at times.
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“The severity of childhood mental health conditions had already been intensified by social media, but the combination of that with the pandemic has literally made this a lethal combination,” said Mónica González.
“Watching their children go through any difficulty is really hard on parents,” said Andrea Burnett. “Our job is to keep our children safe, fed and loved.”
Sometimes the best way to love someone who is struggling mentally is to listen and acknowledge it.
So each May, experts use Mental Health Awareness Month to share the sometimes life-saving message: It’s okay to not be okay.
“Children with anxiety or mood or attention disorders do get better with treatment,” said Dr. Dave Anderson, a clinical psychologist at the Child Mind Institute. It’s just that what we know from research is that there is commonly so much stigma that adults can wait years from the time they know something might be going on with their child, to the time they seek help.”
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In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, the Institute of the Child Mind is trying to end that stigma.
Every day, a different video is shared by prominent names in the community, including San Francisco 49ers greats Steve Young and Ronnie Lott, and national names like P!nk, each highlighting their own connection to mental health.
Awareness is not just about knowledge, it is about inspiring change.
“It gets better and there are beautiful times waiting for you and there are beautiful people waiting to love you and one of those people is yourself,” P!nk said in her message to the Child Mind Institute.
“We don’t just want people to think about it,” Dr. Anderson said. “We want people to get involved. Let them think, if they see these videos, ‘what can I do with a person who matters to me in my life to reach out to them, ask how they’re doing or ask if I can help them find the help they need? ‘”.
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And if we do that, we could all make our community a better place.
If you want to watch any of the Dare to Share videos, You can visit the Child Mind Institute website here.
If you’re on the ABC7 News app, click here to watch live
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