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  • Writer's pictureJaime Leigh

MHAM-Toolbox Resources


Welcome to Mental Health Awareness Month, Everyone!

I made it to Missouri in one piece and two outfit changes later. I definitely struggled when I first got to the airport and had to leave my family at security. However, once I got on my first plane and got in the groove, I relaxed a little. I will admit though, I have been doing some serious self care while I have been here in Missouri. It has consisted of a whole lot of nothing. I’m kidding (for the most part). I have been catching up on some of my favorite content creators, reading, making awesome food and, most importantly, hanging out with my bestie. I really didn’t want to get off the couch and finish editing this post, but I knew that there wasn’t a way that I could miss Mental Health Awareness Week.

I hope that you all are having good days, but realistically, I know that everyone isn’t going to be. I usually do a post in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month or Week here on my blog. Last time, I wrote about some of my favorite mental health related reads that I would recommend everyone read. Today, however, I thought that I would go a slightly different route.

I have been going to individual therapy for about three years now. My therapist is very big on each individual forming their own toolbox of mental health resources to reach for whenever they are struggling. In your toolbox, she suggests that you have things like resources for information, self care tricks that work for you, brain boosters and positive reinforcement statements that click with your brain, music you love ect. So today, I thought that I would share some of the resources that are in my toolbox with you all, in the hope that they can also help you. Maybe you can add them to your tool box as well!

Emma Giordano

Most people will probably know of my first resource. Emma from Emmmabooks is pretty popular here on booktube. However, she also runs another channel where she talks about Psychology and Mental Health, as she is studying to become a therapist and has several years of personal experience dealing with her own mental health. Although she is in no way a licensed mental health professional, her videos serve as entertaining introductions to mental health concepts.

Kati Morton

Kati is actually a mental health professional. She has been making videos for years on a slew of topics. She has also had several different Youtubers on her channel to discuss their experiences with mental illness. I have always found her videos enlightening. Her personality is very calm, and she presents information in a way that is both informative and non judgemental. I want to highlight the fact that watching videos of a counselor on Youtube about your mental illness is not a replacement for discussing your concerns with a counselor in person. Kati’s videos can function as companion content for your sessions, or provide you with clarity for specific topics. You may even be able to send some of her videos to loved ones to help explain what you are experiencing to them.

The DSM-V

This is the most academic of all the resources on this list. The DSM stands for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health (Fifth Edition). If you attend college or have a local library near you, they should have a copy of the current DSM available for you to read through. Usually the manual is used for clinicians as a diagnostic tool. Yet, as someone with mental illness, I found the various diagnostic criteria very enlightening and validating for my symptoms/experiences. I suggest that everyone give it a browse.

Linda Barsi

I have been following Linda' videos ever since the beginning of her 52 videos. I found Linda's content, although less frequent than I would like, always enjoyable. Linda's content isn't exclusively mental health related. Most of her content is actually about writing, specifically screen writing, which I also find interesting. After following Linda's videos for a while, I loved when she started making mental health related content. My favorite one of her videos is titled, "Why I started taking antidepressants." The first time I saw this video, I cried like a crazy person. I watched it over and over, feeling more and more validated about my own mental health and antidepressant journey the more times I watched the video. Even if you never watch her other videos, I highly suggest subscribing to Linda's channel for her mental health content.

Side Note: I saw this content for the first time on AConnMan's channel, but I don't think that he was the first one that came up with the idea of the Dance Recess. Linda's video reminded me of the concept after I forgot about it for a while, and now it has a permanent spot in my toolbox.

Ted Talks

Not surprisingly, there are Ted Talks that discuss mental health. I know that the Ted Talk format may not be for everyone, which is totally okay. They are a little less conversational then Emma or Kati’s videos, which may make it difficult for some people to get into them. Still, I have found several of the talks helpful and enlightening, which is why I thought that I would include them on this list. The one that I have linked was the first one that I watched from Ted Talks on mental health. This on is specifically about mental health, and trauma, and it is one of my favorites.

The Honest Guys

My therapist introduced me to the practice of mindfulness meditation. There are many different kinds of meditations that you can practice, and I think you have to follow which one works for you, but sometimes it helps to have something to follow. The Honest Guys are a Youtube channel that produce videos of various lengths that all center around different mindfulness meditations. Usually each video focuses on a different topic. For instance, one video will focus on dismanteling thoughts of anxiety, while another will try and promote sleep. I like the ones that are shorter, as I think they work just as well as the longer ones when you are on a time crunch. Whenever my OCD or Depersonalization is really bad, I will usually play one of these. Even if the video can’t pull me all the way out of whatever thought process I am caught up in, they usually do a pretty dang good job. Highly recommend! If you don’t like the narrator’s voices though, look up mindfulness meditations on Youtube. There are several pages of different videos you can choose from. The Honest Guys are just the ones that I like best.

I hope that some of these are helpful and that you all can add them to your toolboxes. If you aren't having a good mental health day, know that you are loved and that things will get better. If you are having a good mental health day, I hope that you are able to stay present and appreciate it for everything it is.

More later,

Jaime

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