May is Mental Health Awareness month, a time to consider the need for self-care, seeking help when we or others are struggling, and the benefits of therapy, social support, and the power of community.
Like grief, mental health is often avoided or spoken in whispers or private. The ability to talk about grief, connect with others for support, and find ways of coping when things are challenging, confusing, and uncertain helps to decrease loneliness and provide alternatives and strategies that improve our mental health. Opening the doors to these conversations and recognizing that the more we can talk about mental health and grief, the better able we are to help ourselves and others and create and maintain connections over time.
Our ability to manage mental health and cope with grief are goals we strive for at The Children’s Room. We are learning every day that many things, including illness, the pandemic, genetic factors, stress, and grief, impact mental health, and we recognize that attending to our grief is also a way to take care of our mental health. Mental health in childhood means reaching developmental and emotional milestones, learning healthy social skills, and coping with problems. When there is a death in the family, grief, and loss also affect your brain in various ways. It may be challenging to focus and concentrate; more stress, worry, and sadness may lead to depression and isolation, increasing the risk of physical illness, poor school performance, and sleep disorders. Just as loneliness can hurt our health, friendships and being with others who understand can help to improve it.
Our mission is that no one grieves alone. Connection is at the core of our work at TCR with the hope that it will not only support all in their grief process, but contribute in a larger way to learning to cope in healthy ways and to become more resilient over one’s lifetime.
Click here to learn more about our Grief Services, and here for grief support resources.
This entry is by Nancy Frumer Styron, PsyD, J.D., Clinical Director
