National Mental Health Awareness Month is here and, 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. That is why we designed the SHARE™ campaign, as a way to open the channels of communication on mental illness.
Mental illness is just that, an illness. 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, treatments are available – yet symptoms often go unnoticed or left untreated.
The SHARE campaign, designed as a companion to last year’s AWARE™ campaign, is a way to help individuals when they, or someone they know, are struggling silently with a mental illness. The advisement uses the acronym SHARE to outline the steps in communicating a mental illness:
S – Say it out loud.
H – Help others to help you.
A – Ask for help.
R – Relax.
E – Empower yourself.
Each of us suffer from feelings that can overcome our sense of mental wellness. From everyday stressors to more frequent and persistent feelings of hopelessness, fear, or anxiety, it’s important that we recognize these feelings and reach out for help. Using the acronym SHARE can help you along that path, with an easy way to increase awareness – and acceptance – of care.
The SHARE flyer has more detail and is suitable as a handout or to hang on walls for easy reference in offices, schools, or dorm rooms. They are available to print and share below.
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.
