Stories

#MindYourMentalHealth: Mental Health First Aid 

We find it acceptable, to a certain extent, for older people to talk about their every ailment - bowel movement frequency, medication regimen, colitis episodes, etc. We all discuss headaches, soreness, allergies, while freely disclosing complete medical history in doctor’s office waiting rooms, well, almost complete medical histories. 

We’re taught mind-body-soul early, and we learn to exercise and some of us, how to pray, but the health of our mind is not considered, and definitely not openly discussed except under the socially acceptable “self-care”. Do we even know a complete mental health history of those in our families? Probably not - It’s been taboo.

Thus, Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) was created in 2001 by health educator, Betty Kitchener and health literacy professor, Anthony Jorm, to break the stigma, to create open dialogue. Mental Health First Aid is a CPR-like layperson’s training, so we all can be better neighbors, friends and family members to recognize mental health issues in ourselves and others, directing whomever to the right help and more comfortably able to discuss mental health wellness as we do physical health.

On a more formal note, here’s how Mental Health First Aid USA defines the training: an 8-hour course that gives people the skills to help someone who is developing a mental health problem or experiencing a mental health crisis. The evidence behind the program demonstrates that it does build mental health literacy, helping the public identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental illness.

So, who is involved in Charlotte and how can you get involved?

Our nonprofit partner Mental Health America of the Central Carolinas and our corporate partner, and sponsor of this month's  Cardinal Innovations Healthcare are both committed to offering this training (as is Atrium Health, and Novant Health). Mental Health America of the Central Carolinas even teaches this to Mecklenburg County inmates. Charlotte trainers are training youth as well. If you want to find a workshop near you, so you too can be trained to be a Mental Health First Aider, check out course offerings HERE.

If you would like to take a class offered to the public or you would like for your organization to offer a training, connect with Mental Health America of the Central Carolinas to schedule an office training. It’s worth a day of lost on-the-job productivity because the ROI - the health of you and your colleagues - is priceless. 

MHACC is also hosting a free event known as Coffee and Conversation series Mental Health Matters: It’s time to talk at 1pm on June 5th in an effort to get people talking and destigmatize mental health.

As a certified MHFA trainer myself, I cannot sing praises enough of this practical, extraordinary training that breaks down barriers between people as mental health is discussed - not as a political issue - but as a familial, personal, “self-care” method of caring for one another.

Do GOOD, Charlotte, and find a training, host a training near you. If you fall in love with it, there’s always the option of becoming a certified trainer. Learn more HERE.

If you’re interested in having youth trained in MHFA, that’s a possibility too - just search for trainers in the Charlotte area who are certified to teach youth; this training includes eating disorders and focuses on teenage-specific scenarios. If you know a youth who needs counseling, our nonprofit partner, Teen Health Connection  is a phenomenal resource for individual and family counseling and some of their non-clinical staff have also been through the Mental Health First Aid training. Check out their official website HERE to see the complete list of services that Teen Health Connection offers. 

Destigmatizing conversations about Mental Health must happen for us to love our family members, our neighbors, our coworkers and ourselves better - truly embracing the idea of caring for our MIND as well as our body and soul. 

I toast to good health - mental, physical, spiritual, for you and for others. May we learn more about what it looks like to take care of one another.