Raising Awareness About Mental Health in May

Mon, 11 May 2020 10:56:28 -0400
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Each year, millions of people navigate the lived experience of mental illness. UMBC's Office of Accessibility and Disability Services joins the movement with its many departmental partnerships, to promote mental health awareness, fight stigma, and provide support. One in five people will have a mental health diagnosis in their lifetime. We are in this together.

More information about Mental Health Awareness Month from NAMI (National Alliance of Mental Illness) is linked here.

While more people are on campus now we are sharing, NAMI's Strength over Silence series which provides stories of courage, culture and community to share lived experiences, resilience and recovery from African American and Latinx communities in anticipation of National Minority Mental Health Month in July.

Mindfulness and meditation practices can boost mental health - look into these apps to engage in this practice at a time that works best for you:

Insight Timer: https://insighttimer.com/

Smiling Mind: https://www.smilingmind.com.au/

Calm: https://www.calm.com/

Head Space: https://www.headspace.com/headspace-meditation-app

UCLA Mindful: https://www.uclahealth.org/ucla-mindful

Stop, Breathe, Think: https://www.stopbreathethink.com/

Being physically active also boosts mental health. If you would like to do more than walk around your neighborhood, see what classes UMBC's Recreation Department offers for remote participation via this link to their website.

While Accessibility & Disability Services works with faculty, staff, and student employee work accommodations and campus accessibility, and Student Disability Services manage academic accommodation requests, the following links for campus and community-based information and resources offer more depth:

Students (undergraduate and graduate) groups and resources include:

UMBC NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Group

UMBC Counseling Center (Link) which includes

Tips for Managing COVID 19 Concerns

Counseling Center's COVID Resource Page

Recovery & Sober Living/Haven (link)

Welltrack Interactive Self Help Therapy 24/7 access

University Health Services (link)

Wellness Initiative (link)

Faculty and staff mental health supports available through Human Resources include

UMBC's Wellness Initiative
Connecting with mental health providers and wellness coaches through employee health benefits, as well as

24/7 free confidential counseling via the Employee Assistance Program (link)

If a campus member's health situation changes (such as a recent injury or diagnosis, they can apply for, or update academic accommodation requests via Student Disability Services (link) and work-related accommodations via Accessibility & Disability Services (link). ADS works in partnership with HR for faculty, staff and student worker job-related situations.

Community

While some 24 hour resources are provided, it's important to know that anyone can have a moment of crisis, and are people available to listen and help at any time, including:

Maryland 211, as in, dial 2-1-1 for help

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or use the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741

Have a safe and healthy month!

Photo illuminated neon "Open" sign by Prateek Katyal on Unsplash