May is mental health month and Mental Health America’s (MHA) focus for this year is “look around and look within” for ways to improve and boost your mental health. The focus of “look around” is on home, community, and nature. Looking within focuses on self-awareness, overall wellness, and self-care. To start out mental health month I wanted to provide some resources. This article can be a helpful reference to cut out and keep or take a picture of it to keep in your phone for future reference.
Mental Health Resources
Direct Contact 24/7 Resources:
· 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: The 988 Lifeline provides 24/7, free, and confidential support to people in distress – you don’t need to be suicidal to reach out. Call 1-800-273-8255 to be connected with a crisis counselor. Crisis counselors who speak Spanish are available at 1-888-628-9454. 988
· Text line: When you text 988, you’ll complete a short survey so the crisis counselor knows a little about your situation. You will then be connected with a trained crisis counselor at the center who will answer your text, provide support, and share resources.
· Crisis Text Line: If you prefer texting instead of talking on the phone, text MHA to 741-741 to be connected with a crisis counselor who will help you deal with your emotions.
· Warmlines: Warmlines are staffed by trained peers who have been through their own mental health struggles and know what it’s like to need someone to talk to. A list of warmlines can be found at www.warmline.org.
· 911. If you are in crisis or feel you may be having a possible life threatening emergency don’t wait or take chances. Call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.
Free Mental Health Screening Resources
Below are some screening tools that you can use for free. These screening tools are not an official diagnosis and should not be taken as professional health advice. If you feel you have symptoms of a mental health problem, please take the results of your screening tool to a trained mental health professional for further evaluation.
· Mental Health America has several free screenings online such as tests for depression, PTSD, bipolar, anxiety, and eating disorders. For the full list of available screenings go to https://screening.mhanational.org/screening-tools/
· Life Transitions Therapy has a quick free depression screening tool which can be found at the bottom of the page under “helpful documents”. This is based off the DSM and is a Word document for downloading. https://lifetransitionstherapy.biz/
· PsyCom has a 3 Minute Depression test developed by Ivan K. Goldberg, MD, the founder of PsyCom who was also a renowned psychiatrist. It can be found at https://www.psycom.net/depression-test
· Help Yourself Help Others is a site that offers an overall mental health screening tool. It can be found at https://www.helpyourselfhelpothers.org/ or go directly to the screening site at https://screening.mentalhealthscreening.org/hyho
These screening tools are helpful when you have concerns or suspect you may have a mental health issue. Taking one of these tests does not provide a mental health diagnosis. A mental health diagnosis should be provided by a licensed mental health professional.
Additional Resources
MHA’s Workplace Mental Health Toolkit: Creating a Culture of Support and Well-being: The Workplace Mental Health Toolkit provides information on how employers and people leaders can develop or improve workplace policies that uplift workers, ensure they are valued and heard, and improve an organization’s overall culture of well-being. https://mhanational.org/workplace/toolkit
Psychology Today has hundreds of articles online written by professionals in the field that you can access at no cost. Essentiahttps://www.psychologytoday.com/us/essentials
My business, Life Transitions Therapy LLC, posts the various articles I’ve written regarding mental health and pain management on our Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/LifeTransitionsTherapyLLC
Good Therapy has a blog with mental health articles written by professionals that you can access at no cost. https://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/
I hope you find this information helpful. This article is for informational purposes only. I hope everyone stays healthy!
Melissa Spino MA LPC CDMS
Life Transitions Therapy LLC Founder and Therapist