How We Can All Become Mental Health Advocates

(Photo : How We Can All Become Mental Health Advocates)

Mental health has become an important discussion over the past few years as a lot more of us realize the value of discussing mental health openly. Doing so has helped reduce the stigma surrounding mental health, increase treatment rates, and given rise to advocates of mental health in various capacities. One way to keep up the good work is for everyone who can, especially nurses, to become mental health advocates. Nurses are in a better position to do so because they spend a lot of time with their patients and know them better than anyone else. So, how can you become a mental health advocate, whether you are a nurse or not?

Talk About Mental Health on Social Media

Social media has become a very important tool in the discussion of difficult topics such as mental health issues and challenges. Because of this, it is a top tool for spreading mental health awareness. Some of the people already involved in mental health advocacy say that posting content from their blogs to social media has helped start conversations that have eroded the traditional views people have about mental health.

Facebook and Twitter have been hailed as important tools in this regard because of how easy they are to use and the type of reach one can have on either or both of these platforms. Those who want to become mental health advocates, including nurses who have the time, should aim to post about mental health on social media at least once a day. 

There are different types of impactful content including infographics, inspirational quotes, videos discussing mental health, mental health statistics, images, and anything else that has an educational value. For nurses who are new to social media advocacy, you can still make a difference no matter how many or how few followers you have.

Share Mental Health Content

For nurses who do not have the time to maintain a full social media presence, there are still ways that they can make a difference in this discussion. The best way is through sharing content discussing mental health. This can be blog posts, articles, resources videos, news articles, or any other content surrounding mental health. These different types of content can be shared on social media or through emails and text messages to friends, family, and anyone else interested in becoming a mental health advocate.

Play a Role in Policy Formulation

Because they work directly with their patients, nurses are in a great position to propose safer and effective strategies to help patients with mental health issues. The strategies they come up with can shape the future of their profession, especially in how they treat and care for mental health patients, as well as the healthcare industry, as they understand patient issues better than most other healthcare professionals since they spend a lot of time with them.

Their impact can also be felt in policy reform, using new technologies to help with mental illness, advocacy for universal access to mental health care as well as formulating strategies to help with age-related mental health challenges in an aging baby boomer generation.

Nurses who want to work in mental health advocacy require leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills. Nurses can hone their skills by earning an advanced nursing degree offered by universities like the Malek School of Nursing. With an advanced degree, nurses also get a lot of freedom to work in advocacy outside of healthcare facility settings, such as in legal nursing and research, to come up with viable solutions for helping those affected.

Join and Get Involved with the Mental Health Advocacy Community

Doing a little research will reveal that there are lots of mental health advocacy groups around you. These groups help to amplify messages about mental health so that more people understand what it is and so that others can join them in their advocacy efforts. Participating in and volunteering for these groups is a great way to show support as well as be among your peers. If you do not know where to start, a simple social media or search engine search should reveal lots of advocacy and support groups near you.

Run Fundraisers for Mental Health

Mental health is one of the severely underfunded areas of healthcare. There is currently a shortage of critical funds required for research, awareness, and advocacy. Fundraising for mental health is a great way to advocate as well as raise the funds required to help those suffering from mental health. As with joining a community, there are lots of foundations and communities that you can fundraise for. Some people may choose to advocate for suicide prevention, while others may choose to advocate for mental health services for teenagers.

Some social media platforms such as Facebook already have tools that can help advocates set up fundraising campaigns. Facebook has a "Charitable Giving Tools" section that can help advocates set up fundraisers for their favorite causes.

Speak Up for Mental Health and Educate Others

Mental health advocates are educators first and there are lots of opportunities for them to speak up for mental health as well as educate others. Educating yourself so that you can educate others is especially important if there is a lot of stigma surrounding mental health in places that you find yourself often. For example, there are lots of opportunities to discuss mental health in family settings, especially where there are those suffering from mental illness.

Using knowledge, evidence, and research, you can dissuade people of what they think about mental health issues and those suffering from them, thereby helping reduce instances of discrimination and stigma. To educate yourself on all matters of mental health, you can use different resources available online or those provided by other mental health advocates, healthcare facilities, and mental health advocacy groups and communities.

Mental health is a difficult subject to discuss. This is one of the reasons why there is so much misunderstanding surrounding it. However, we can all become mental health advocates to ensure that those suffering from mental illness and related conditions can get the help, understanding, and support they need.