Guys, May is done. Today is the last day of May! I know, how can it be? Hard to believe, but here we are. So, we have some blog highlights for you!
This month of May is (or was) Mental Health Awareness Month. And, we discussed some interesting topics pertaining to mental health. As it may be, mental health is not a fully embraced topic. However, the good news is we are turning the tide and bring awareness to this vast topic of mental health.
Mental health is just as important as every other aspect of health, including physical and emotional. While we promote working out and eating right, it’s important to also address mental health, the benefits of taking care of it, and encouraging people to seek help.
By beginning with encouraging people to talk about their mental health, we are opening doors to substantial change, sincere openness without judgement, and much-needed comfortability.
“Vulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage. Truth and courage aren’t always comfortable, but they’re never weakness.”
— Brené Brown
In this highlight post, we’ll give a roundup of all the blog posts we made earlier this month.
- Why We Need to Talk About Mental Health
- How to Talk to Your Teen About Their Mental Health
- Is the Boy Child at Risk? Nurturing the 21st Century Boy Child
- The Man Who Couldn’t Ask for Help
Why We Need to Talk About Mental Health – Blog Highlights
First week of May was all about the importance of talking about mental health. According to American Psychiatric Association, mental health can be defined as a person’s state of being concerning psychological and emotional well-being.
Indeed, the reality is that mental health issues are everywhere and affect anyone. It doesn’t matter how old or young we are. We are all impacted some way or the other. To illustrate, here are ten ways mental health issues impact us. Mental health…
- impacts your physical health.
- impacts relationships.
- can impact your work performance.
- can be a barrier to education.
- has a stigma surrounding it and it’s a huge problem
- is a public health issue.
- is vital for overall well-being.
- issues can lead to addiction.
- is prevalent in marginalized communities.
- can lead to suicide.
KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS BLOG
To sum up, mental health is something we need to keep talking about. It should be and remain a never-ending topic to eliminate the stigma and discrimination surrounding mental health.
We need to prioritize mental health and promote open conversations to increase mental health awareness so people can seek the help they need.
In short, let’s recognize the importance of mental health and take steps to address it’s issues.
How to Talk to Your Teen About Their Mental Health – Blog Highlights
Teenagers are a very interesting breed of persons. But, THAT is not to say that they are not as human as the rest of us. Just like you — and I’m talking to you, parents, guardians, and any adults managing any teenager — they have feelings.
Truly, we agree that it might not be easy to talk with teenagers, let alone raise the topic about mental health with them. However, it is very much as important as your pressing need for them to “go study!”
So, we have six tips (or steps, however you’d like to see it) to help you in talking to your teen about their mental health.
- Create a safe and supportive environment.
- Start the conversation.
- Be open and non-judgemental.
- Educate yourself.
- Encourage professional help.
- Check-in regularly.
Now, we have enunciated on these points for this blog, so make certain to educate yourself. See what I did there?
Given what I’ve said so far, Anita Adefuye sheds more light to this topic by sharing “Why You MUST Talk to Your Teens About Mental Health.” You see how she put ‘MUST’ in the title? So, y’all got no choice but to start talking to them teenagers about their mental health.
Is the Boy Child at Risk? Nurturing the 21st Century Boy Child – Blog Highlights
This week was all about celebrating the boy child. May 16th was International Day of the Boy Child, so happy belated boy child’s day to all our amazing boys and men out there!
We put a great deal into protecting the girl child, but what of the boy child? How are we raising our boy child? How are YOU raising your boy child?
In light of this, I give to you 7 strategies for nurturing the 21st Century Boy Child.
- Redefining masculinity.
- Emotional Intelligence and building health relationships
- Teaching consent and respect, as well as nurturing ethical behaviour.
- Encouraging well-roundedness and balancing academics, hobbies, and relationships.
- Positive roles models, and the influence of men in boys’ lives.
- Medica literacy and navigating the influence of media.
- Building resilience and preparing boys for challenges.
Undoubtedly, societal standards for boys and men often impose unrealistic demands that can make it difficult for them to thrive in our complex modern world. So, let us work together to create a future where all boys can reach their full potential.
In fact, Anita Adefuye, along with her guests Tola Adefuye (her darling husband), Sola Akinyemi, and Funso Babajide, discussed on “All About the Boy Child: Raising the 21st Century Boy Child.”
Her guests discussed about their childhood experiences, navigating fatherhood, raising beautiful sons of their own, societal stereotypes surrounding masculinity, and more.
Here are some of what I took from the conversation:
- Boys cry too! Toxic masculinity is real.
- There is (or shouldn’t be) no good cop bad cop in parenting.
- Reduce societal pressures on men.
- Converse with your boys as much as you converse with your girls.
- Find a community you trust in helping you raise your child. There is a need for male figures in their lives to responsibly model.
“Becoming a dad means you have to be a role model for your son and be someone he can look up to.”
— Wayne Rooney
With this purpose in mind, watch the video and learn on creating a better future for your boys.
The Man Who Couldn’t Ask for Help – Blog Highlights
Finally, this week we talk on breaking the stigma surrounding seeking for help. For this post, we have a story about a man finding it hard to ask for help until his friend came along. Here is an excerpt from the story:
“After a little more talk on the phone, Tunde sets to leave his house. He exits through his familiar door and turns around to lock it. He stares at the door for a few minutes, thinking to himself that this will be the last time he will walk through it. Tunde, then, sets off for work. He decides against taking his bicycle and his usual route.
This route is rougher and longer and, shockingly, tougher. Tunde takes this path like he’s walked on it before. He seems to know where he is going. He walks past trees and cars and buildings and people and finally gets to his destination – the side of the bridge.
It will all be over soon, Tunde thinks to himself, while knowing his eternal destination.”
There are many mental health issues arising, and one of the issues is the stigma surrounding it. As I have mentioned earlier, we live in a world where the topic of mental health is not fully embraced which leads to a difficulty seeking help for people who need it.
So, let’s start raising awareness and encourage people to seek the help they need. If you need help, please reach out to your loved ones or whoever you trust. It is ok to not be ok.
Takeaways
Hopefully, you picked a thing or two from this post.
As we have mentioned, it’s important to continue talking about mental health to encourage individuals to seek the help they need. Mental health issues affect everyone and can have a significant impact on, relationships, work performance, education, and overall well-being.
Remember, mental health is just as important as physical health, and we should all prioritize taking care of it.
Moreover, conversations with teenagers about mental health should take place in a safe space and a non-judgmental way.
And let’s not forget the societal pressures our men face in this complexity of our modern world. So, we need to work together in creating a future that makes it easy for them to thrive.
Thank you for reading our May blog highlights, and stay tuned for more content from us every Wednesday. Have a great rest of your week!
Her book, Reve-Healed – A true story of pain, healing, and hope, is available for purchase. Get yourself a copy today!
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