It’s the end of May…are we done with mental health awareness now?
For some of us, mental health awareness does not—and should not—end at the end of May. As defined by clinicians, mental health is “someone’s ability to manage and cope with the stress and challenges of life, and to manage any diagnosed mental health problems as part of leading their normal everyday life.”
When you add to that a global pandemic with hundreds of thousands of casualties, the social outrage over violence against BIPOC, the political turmoil in this country, and so many other atrocities we constantly confront, “normal everyday life” itself seems like a fantasy.
And when you consider how little we know about brain function, despite being in possession of these marvelous machines, plus the impact of all the moment-to-moment experiences that alter and affect our perceptions of reality and our responses to one another, we all struggle every day with mental health.
Truth is, we are made of dirt and stars and everything in between, bumping and scattering like sparkling dust in the fractured light of our lives. And we can be so beautiful. Yet how many misunderstandings arise because we are so sure that our perceptions are reliable. And what of the fragile relationship many of us have with ourselves? How do we best reconcile this tension of holding uncertainty and infallibility in our small, small frames?
Art from Ashes not only provides access to the arts for an historically underserved population, promotes creativity through poetry, provides connection through spoken word performances, but our programs also offer a means to practice managing perceptions through art. We not only engage artists and poets in building our curriculum, we call on experts in multiple scientific fields to provide counsel and education.
One of our board members, Michael Hooten, has some thoughts on creativity and mental health.
In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, we’d like to thank Caring for Denver Foundation for their advocacy and support. Many people in the community believe as we do, that non-clinical mental health support through the arts provides hope and healing to the youth in our community. It’s vital that young people understand they are valuable, they are not alone, their voices matter, and that they are “powerful beyond measure.”*
*A quote from Marianne Williamson’s “A Return to Love”
Why mental health month?
Board Vice President Michael Hooten, Psychotherapist, MSW, BS, CPC, ELI-MP
To follow suit with logical, academic, evidence-based, critical thinking, professional lenses that 7 years of university higher education have bestowed upon me, I obviously Googled it! And here are my thoughts:It’s a great idea! Dedicating a month out of the year to raise awareness and educate the public on mental health is at least a step in the RIGHT direction!
In fact, the RIGHT hemisphere of the brain lights up on a high-tech sciencey MRI brain computer to indicate out-of-the-box thinking, visual-spatial awareness and creative flow taking place. Now, this happens to be the same side of the brain that deals with visceral emotions and traumatic experiences. In modern society, this is the complete opposite of where we place value and resources for young developing minds. Instead, we almost completely gratify and solely exercise the logical left hemisphere of the brain which organizes, sequences and verbally articulates for many of our idolized American Dreams. We teach young people the most important things are things like money-making, management positions and meeting deadlines.
But how often do we model connection and emotional expression about getting picked on by the playground bully?
You might have guessed, the ideal healthy brain is actually a balanced one with both sides flexing and exercising evenly, rather than a lopsided one that only spends time preparing for standardized math tests. Exercising the two hemispheres consistently and simultaneously strengthens their ability to communicate with one another and find coherence—in other words, organize the chaos!
The self-regulation and resiliency to work through stress and trauma is what allows the mind to get outside of the box and imagine a new paradigm for health, wellbeing and growth.
Minor stress, as well as big traumatic events in life, actually allow us to prioritize and remember negative instances so we can avoid them and find safety in the future.
However, such stressors, big or small, can sometimes affect the mind so strongly that neural pathways get stuck. The ability to “unstick” the effects of life’s trauma (which many times can be the source of mental illness) requires consistent, authentic cross-communication between both sides of the brain. This wiring of the two hemispheres through organizing emotional expression and relational connection literally creates new, healthy pathways which allow the mind to adapt to tough situations with greater resiliency.
This is the way to preventatively fortify society’s mental health and begin eliminating the many fires so many healthcare professionals and parents find themselves racing to stomp out.
Luckily, this dependable and consistent balance of social emotional exercise is exactly what Art from Ashes workshops provide to the developing minds of local youth! By emphasizing focus on the RIGHT hemisphere of the brain through a strategically built, award-winning curriculum, Art from Ashes wires the whole brain to work together and exemplifies the potent impact of non-clinical, community-based mental health.
What if local communities had more mental health resources to support, normalize and prioritize youth not only during mental health awareness month but throughout the entire year?
Well, the local youth and public educational systems in Colorado do! Art from Ashes is and always has been here, ready to serve, by collaborating with schools, treatment centers, juvenile detention facilities, hospitals, and other youth-serving agencies and even our own on-site weekly and monthly programming, to meet the emotional and mental health needs of young people in our community and now virtually anywhere in the world!
