Pedalin’ for Mental Health!

Here’s a Guest Opinion Column I wrote for our local newspaper in recognition of May as Mental Health Awareness Month. It’s a good time to take stock of our mental well-being, especially after the many challenges of the past year. While I have a tendency to talk about family when sharing my thoughts—in this article it’s my 5-year-old grandson—this isn’t his picture. It’s our friend’s son. Cute, but so is my grandson! You can also read the article in the Butler Eagle.

“My five-year-old grandson wants to take part in a kiddie-tractor pull this summer, where children test their mettle pulling a wheelless sled that becomes incrementally heavier the longer they pedal. When our kids were young—several decades ago—they loved tractor pulls, and for many summers our family attended the Portersville Tractor Show so they could pull. 

My grandson, who likes pedaling his toy John Deere tractor and trailer around his Cleveland, Ohio, neighborhood, is anxious to test his pulling power. When he learned recently that a local tractor show his family planned to attend was canceled because of the pandemic, he looked plaintively at his father and asked, “Daddy, is COVID going to last the rest of my life?”

The pandemic has taken a toll on each of us in different ways. For my husband and me, it’s in the social isolation, especially from family, and not being able to see our grandson and his new baby sister for long stretches of time. For many, it’s caused tremendous hardship: the loss of a job, the death of a loved one, work burnout, canceled or scaled-back celebrations, anxiety, hunger, depression, anger… the list goes on and on.

If there are silver linings to this past year, one would be in our enhanced understanding of what is meant when talking about mental health, because many of us have experienced a downturn in our sense of well-being. In a survey taken just four months into the pandemic, the Center for Disease Control reported that symptoms of anxiety and depression, serious thoughts of suicide, and substance use had nearly doubled. Imagine those stats a year later!

Leading mental health organizations like Mental Health America (MHA) and the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) work to raise awareness about brain disorders, especially in May, Mental Health Awareness month. It’s a time to focus on our own mental well-being but also to work to reduce the stigma around mental illness and mental health struggles that block people from seeking help.

According to NAMI, 1 in 5 adults in the U.S. experiences a mental health condition each year and 1 in 25 has a serious mental illness, and this was prior to the pandemic! With Butler County’s population nearing 190,000, that means an estimated 38,000 of our family, friends, and neighbors have had a mental health condition this past year and 7,600 suffer from severe mental illness. In practical terms, it means that most Butler Countians know someone dealing with mental health issues. Although we may not know who they are, we still must care about and for them.

The MHA, a community-based nonprofit that promotes early identification and intervention of mental health problems, is encouraging people to participate in online screenings in May, especially if they’ve noticed changes in mood, emotions, behaviors, and thinking. The screenings can be helpful in determining if the symptoms they’re experiencing are signs of a mental health condition, such as OCD, depression, or anxiety. The screening is available at https://screening.mhanational.org/screening-tools/

MHA’s website also offers strategies that help those dealing with mental health issues. Topics include Adapting After Trauma and Stress, Getting Out of Thinking Traps, Taking Time for Yourself, and Dealing with Anger and Frustration. 

This past year has forced many of us to accept situations that we felt we’ve had little or no control over, even my grandson, who’ll have to wait a bit longer for his first tractor pull. 

Rest assured, though. COVID won’t last the rest of our lives.