National Mental Health Awareness Month was established in 1949 to bring attention to the mental diseases that one in four Americans suffer from. As a mental health care organization, it’s our goal to provide education and share messages that will help break down the walls of stigma built around mental illness and open doors for people to get help.
Mental illness is a disease – just like asthma, cancer, or any other disease. It can cause mild to severe disturbances in thought and/or behavior, and result in an inability to cope with life’s ordinary demands and routines. Just like any other disease or illness, treatment and are available – yet symptoms often go unnoticed or left untreated.
That’s why we created the AWARE™ campaign. We know care is available and recovery is a reality. We know that if more people recognize when they – or someone they know – are experiencing a mental health issue, help is available.
Using the acronym AWARE can help you recognize when someone is in crisis, and move you or that person towards getting help. It’s a simple message: Be AWARE, get help, get on with your life.
How to be AWARE
A – Always listen.
W – Watch for signs & symptoms.
A – Ask helpful questions.
R – Resist judgement.
E – Engage help.
The posters and flyers have more detail and are suitable as handouts or to hang on walls for easy reference in your office, school, or dorm room. They are available for you to print and share.
As more people learn to recognize the symptoms of mental illness, more are likely to get help. This is not just a message for Mental Health Awareness Month; it’s a message that needs to be shared and embraced. Please be sure to share this campaign on your social networks. It’s an important message and can help improve or save someone’s life.
CarePlus is a northern New Jersey integrated mental health care organization that offers a wide variety of mental health care services for all ages. If you have questions or would simply like to schedule a visit, call (201) 986-5000.
If you are a resident of Bergen County, New Jersey and in immediate crisis, call (201) 262-HELP (4357). This hotline is available 24-hours a day, 7 days a week to help you.
CarePlus NJ, INC. is dedicated to excellence in mental healthcare and has a commitment to life-long support needed by individuals and their families to ensure that they achieve their full potential and improve the quality of their lives.
