Mental Health
Table of Contents
Introduction
Mental health is a complex issue, and even those who are lucky enough to access professional care can still struggle to get the right diagnosis and the correct types of help.
This page is not meant to diagnose, prescribe, or cure, but to give some ideas and resources that we have found helpful in our own journeys, which also happen to be supported by science.
Suggestions such as Green Prescription have been suggested by scientists but haven't been adopted everywhere, so you may need to find your own ways of accessing green space or you may be interested in advocating for the adoption or Green Prescription or train to become a licensed forest therapy guide to help others in your community.
Modern Rise in Mental Health Crisis
Modern society, pollution (including air and light pollution), capitalism, and other stressors are making mental health around the world become increasingly bad. We're sleeping less, eating foods that cause depression and boost anxiety, we are bombarded with stimuli that we're only recently learning the true ramifications of. This section explores some of the culprits.
Many Mental Health Issues Start In Childhood
Unstable parents or parents in unstable situations can cause child parentification which has lifelong consequences, especially if left unaddressed.
Unhealthy Consumption Habits, Beliefs, & Clutter
This hormone is a stress hormone, cortisol, which can lead to further problems including anxiety and overwhelm. When overwhelm sets in, we can freeze creating a spiral where things are collected, but not cleaned out (sometimes even after those things become health hazards).
Some of us were bullied by generations who had lived through war and famine to eat unhealthy amount of food "to avoid waste", creating life-long eating disorders. Some of us were shamed for trying to clear out things we didn't want, contributing to life-long hoarding issues.
Minimalism can be a useful tool in unlearning some of the more destructive habits our species has evolved with.
Mental Wellness Practices & Aides
The following are listed alphabetically as each item is helpful, but can be done in any order. Some you may already be doing, in which case feel free to explore the topics you haven't already hear of.
Anti-Fragility
This 7:14 minute video explores how "the pursuit of happiness" generally results in people becoming less happy, and even becoming more prone to depression. Instead the speaker advises people to focus on SPIRE: Spirituality (this just means having a purpose beyond yourself such as activism or caring for others), Physical, Intellectual, Relational, and Emotional wellbeing. Focusing on gratitude for the things we have instead of constantly searching for something "better". It also talks about PTG or Post Traumatic Growth which is what happens when someone grows after a painful experience instead of crumbling as happens with PTSD.
PTSD is a biochemical change that happens after trauma, but PTG can be attained when we can make sense of suffering and survival. A person can heal from PTSD, and experience PTG in the process.
Do Less, Become Happier, says Yale Cognitive Scientist | Laurie Santos
6:16 minute video talks about the harmfullness of hussle culture and the driver for perfection. How being more mindful and kind to ourselves can improve our wellbeing as well as our productivity.
Meditation & Mindfulness
These practices are usually done while sitting in a calm location. They can be done with eyes open or shut, while working, drawing, playing an instrument, or even working out. For example during yoga or weight lifting while focusing on form and with a controlled breathing pattern.
These are best taught sitting still with eyes shut, but as a person becomes more experienced and in tune with their body they may find that switching into mindful or meditative mode improves their ability to perform daily activities.
Self Acceptance, & Control Over Your Life
The three of these strongly influence one another and can have major impacts on our quality if life, success, even our ability to trust ourselves or accomplish our goals. When one falls out of alignment it can send the other aspects of ourselves into a spiral, each one affecting the other.
When we work on concrete ways to improve any one of these, we can quickly find we are able to enter an upward spiral of improvement including personal growth and satisfaction.
Pod Casts
The How To Be A Better Human podcast covers a wide range of topic from improving our listening skills, relationships, sense of self worth, and how to get through things like trauma, rejection, or even grief.
Videos
Talk Therapy
This is a wonderful tool both for venting and for accessing tools, advice, or outside perspective for problems you might not have the ability to deal with alone. Therapists will generally ask you about your current life situation, your goals, and even ask what type of help you would prefer. For example if you are autistic, they may ask if you want to focus on masking techniques that will help you fit in vs learning to unmask to help reduce your stress levels.
Therapists have the advantage of both a formal education about how the mind works, as well as the experience of often seeing 100s of other patients with similar or even identical problems to your own. They can let you know if the current methods you are using are helping or hurting you and your relationships, help you practice mind tricks and phrases that can help reduce tension in your daily life, help you learn what types of personal boundaries are healthy or harmful, and alert you to glaring red flags in your current relationships, which might have been normalized if you were bullied or raised by abusive caregivers.
Helpful Devices
I'm always super skeptical about any promises of buyable objects being anything more than clever advertising. These however have been life-changing for my anxiety, panic attacks, focus, and even quality of sleep.
Weighted Blanket
These have been found to help relieve a range of issues including insomnia, anxiety, panic attacks, PTSD, and reducing or even heading off autistic meltdowns.
Stim Toys
You don't absolutely need to buy one of these. If you or your child, or patient already has a favorite object, and the object doesn't pose a health risk, then it's fine to not get a new item. These can include chew toys or jewelry, bracelets, actual toys, and items that can be disguised as a desk decoration. They can be plastic/rubber, metal, or even fabric and give sensory feedback such as colour, shininess, texture, sound, and interception (the pressure between joints as we push, pull, or squeeze the item).
Environmental Influences on Mental Health
Air Quality
How Air Pollution Threatens Brain Health "Long thought to primarily harm the lungs and cardiovascular system, air pollution is now catching the attention of neuroscientists and toxicologists."
Employment
Doing something that feels meaningful is known to boost a persons wellbeing, but dangerous work environments, toxic workplace culture, and feelings of pointlessness are equally able to rob a person of their wellbeing.
Slaughterhouse Workers & PTSD
Data has found the harms of dangerous, violent work such as that common in slaughterhouses, not only raises the risk of drug and alcohol abuse, but also rates of violence including rape and murder around the facilities. Slaughterhouse workers suffer high rates of depression, PTSD, and other psychological problems which may be hard to get treatment for due to long working hours and poor pay.
Green Prescriptions
Click the Green Prescriptions button to see our directory of Green Prescription locations, programs, and more. The buttons beneath can give you alternative ways to interact with animals and nature which can equally benefit your mental health.
Mental Health Support Services
North America
USA
The Association of Black Psychologists, Inc. (ABPsi) "The ABPsi wants to assist you in finding psychological support or services. If you have searched for a Black mental health provider, or are looking for a Black expert or consultant, the over 1000 individuals in this directory might provide just the support you are looking for."
National Queer and Trans Therapists of Color Network (NQTTCN) "is a healing justice organization committed to transforming mental health for queer and trans people of color (QTPoC). We work at the intersection of movements for social justice and the field of mental health to integrate healing justice into both of these spaces. Our overall goal is to increase access to healing justice resources for QTPoC."
Texas
Safe in Austin "a sanctuary for children and animals that come from abuse or have special needs.
Our animals provide healing and hope to trauma, at-risk, and/or special needs people, these are the animals who triumph and inspire world-wide."
Neurodivergent Support
Being neurodivergent can make life particularly confusing, stressful, and difficult to manage, especially with the limited support currently available for many people dealing with autism, ADHD, OCD, depression, anxiety, and/or other types of neurodivergence.
Resources
Neurodiversity Hub: Resources "There are resources for autistic students and young adults, parents and carers, employers, university staff, aspiring entrepreneurs, architects & building designers and senior secondary school students."
Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network (AWN): Resource Library contains a few resources including packets for parents and care takers. The Burnout guide can be particularly useful.
Trauma
When Too Many Bad Things Happen At Once, DO THIS To Hold On, Stay Strong
26:07 minute video about trauma storms and simple, effective ways to rebalance your nervous system, so that you can recover sooner.
Grants & Funding
North America
USA
Dream.Org Empathy Network Leadership Fund "The Justice team at Dream.Org is looking to partner with directly impacted leaders at the state and local levels. The Dream.Org Empathy Network Leadership Fund is an opportunity to apply for a grant of up to $2,500 to support your activism. And the sky’s the limit!"
Justice Innovation Prize "is an open call for innovative, impactful, feasible, and scalable ideas to end the cycle of mass incarceration. The Justice Innovation Prize Pitch competition is free and open to the public. Watch the Justice Innovation Prize Documentary."