A lot is said in mental health month about "it's ok to ask for help" and it definitely is ok to ask for help. And it's important to say that it's ok to ask for help. But in the midst of a crisis that can often be as useful as telling someone that it's ok to climb Mount Everest.

There are so many ways to practice self-care. Self-care can be bubble baths or yoga or getting a massage. Self-care can also be as simple as brushing your teeth or taking a glass to the sink. Life is really hard right now and it can be easy to forget to take of ourselves. What self-care did you do today? If you haven’t, what can you do in 5 minutes?

Typically, if you asked someone how they were feeling on a scale of 1 to 10, you would anticipate that 10 would be the best, as in the chart on the left. The higher the number, the better you are feeling. However, for someone with bipolar disorder, feeling a mood of 10 would not be a good idea.

When you are going through a mental health struggle, it can often feel like you are the only one who knows what’s going on. It seems like all your friends and family are fine, but you are the one who can’t keep it together. But that is just not true. There are so many people who know what you’re going through. You are not the only one who is struggling.

Setting boundaries is very important for maintaining healthy relationships and it’s also important for your mental health. You may feel like we always have to do what the other person wants or that your opinions aren’t valid or that you are constantly pulled away from the things you love. But by setting boundaries, you can manage both caring for yourself and caring for others. Like the flight attendants say, put on your own oxygen mask first before helping others with theirs.

Today is #mentalhealthactionday What are you doing today for mental health?

For all of you who have had a panic attack, myself included, I’m sure you were frantically Googling if what you were experiencing was “just” a panic attack or if it was a heart attack. The symptoms can be incredibly similar, and it’s hard to know what treatment approach to take.

This is me so much all the time. If I'm not doing something with my hands, I don't even know what to do with myself. It's really hard to get out of the mindset that being "productive" all the time is the goal.

Words mean things. And when it comes to mental health, words can even hurt. It’s critical that we use person-first language and avoid outdated and potential harmful words and phrases.

Firearms and suicide are extremely linked. 51% of all suicides in the U.S. are by firearms and 60% of all firearm deaths are suicides. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention identifies firearms as one of their top critical areas to save the most lives in the shortest amount of time.

Cognitive distortions are negative or irrational patterns of thinking. Everyone experiences these on occasion, but if the faulty thought patterns persist, they can greatly affect your self-esteem, motivation, and quality of life. Today' I’ll focus on one that happens to me a lot: “should” thinking.

We probably (hopefully!) all know the current Suicide Prevention Lifeline phone number of 1-800-2473-8255. Starting on July 16th, you will be able to call or text 988 nationwide to get connected with trained counselors who will listen, help understand your problems, provide support, and share resources that may be helpful.

If you feel like you are having a hard time managing your mental health on your own, it may be time to ask for help. You might feel like it’s a sign of weakness, that you can’t do it by yourself, but you don’t have to do it alone. Asking for help is a strong thing to do - it means that you are taking control of the problem and your life.

I mentioned a few days ago about doing a mental health check-in on a regular basis. You can do something simple like setting a reminder on your phone, but there are also a variety of apps out there that are more mental-health specific that you might want to check out.

Taking medication for your mental health concern doesn’t have to be scary. It doesn’t mean that you are a failure. It doesn’t mean that you “have it real bad.” Medication is just another tool in your toolbox to help your mental health.

Therapy is a great tool for your mental health and there are a lot of reasons people go to therapy. For example, processing difficult experiences, working through relationship issues, learning healthy coping skills, being able to speak to a neutral person, None of those reasons mean you are “crazy” or “broken”.

It’s important to check in on your own mental health on a regular basis. It doesn’t have to be a full inventory, but take a minute (literally, just 1 minute) to think about your mood.

I touched on listening yesterday, but I want to go into more detail about how to listen non-judgmentally. The main goal of listening non-judgmentally is to provide a safe environment where the other person feels comfortable talking about their feelings and situation.