At the Library 5/4/23

 

At the Library
By Ruby Brown

Hello everyone! It is the beautiful month of May and hopefully that means the warm weather is here to stay. Last month I had the privilege to take over the upstairs display of the nonfiction books. In April it was Celebrating the Earth with gardening, fun facts and science books on the earth. It fits right in with the seed exchange, which is still going on and needs more participants! 

    May is National Mental Health Awareness month and there will be a display upstairs with books and knowledge to expand your mind on the subject. Mental health is not something we as people talk about, we usually act awkward or uncomfortable around someone who speaks openly about their mental health. We need to change this; our kids and their kids should be able to express their mental health without feeling ashamed. Just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean it isn't there. 

     The first step to this is gathering information on mental health, such as who it affects, why, when and how to help. Here is some facts from https://www.dhd10.org/mental-health 

 

• One in five Americans live with a mental condition, meaning you or someone you know  have experienced a mental health issue

• One in twenty Americans are living with a serious mental health condition, such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or long-term recurring severe depression 

• The top five mental health illnesses are: 1. Depression  2. Anxiety  3. Bipolar Disorder 4. Schizophrenia and other psychoses  5. Dementia 

 

Offer emotional support to your loved ones, call up an old friend that you haven’t talked to in awhile and smile! If someone sees you smile they will want to smile too, they are just contagious like that. Learn more about mental health with professionals and your own research. Also, wear green! It was the color people would put on others who they thought had mental issues in the 1800s, today we use it as support for those who are fighting a battle we can’t see.