Did you know that kids mental health awareness week is celebrated every year in May? This year it is happening May 5th through 11th. So, I decided to share some interesting mental health trivia with you all.
- Did you know that 1 out of five kids have some form of mental health disorder? That means that 166,000,000 (166 million) kids have a mental health disorder. That’s almost 23 in each school!
- Nearly 21.8% of children ages 3 to 17 may be suffering from a diagnosable mental health disorder,* and 50 percent of them begin before age 14.
- Gratitude journaling is the most recommended way for kids to feel better. It helps you feel joy at the little things in life. Gratitude journaling is when you write down 3 things that you are grateful for that day. According to the University of Berkeley, Gratitude journaling makes you feel a lot happier.*
- Being creative also helps your mental health. Studies show that creating art can be an amazing stress reliever. Creativity also encourages out of the box thinking that stimulates both sides of the brain. Art also provides a way to let out your feelings without having to talk about it.
- Sleep is super important for mental well being. When you are sleeping your body is in the process of rest and relaxation. A good night’s sleep can mean better physical and mental performance the next day. Did you know that Albert Einstein got at least 10 hours of sleep every day? He claimed that it kept his mental alertness and productivity up.
- Most kids feel better when playing. While playing, kids get an opportunity to express feelings that they can’t quite put a word to. Play encourages creativity through games. Play also can keep physical fitness up which is really important for a whole lot of reasons.
- A lot of influential artists had a mental health disorder. Did you know that Vincent van Gogh suffered from severe depression? His way of escaping all of that was art. Most of his art was inspired by his depression. Number 2 is Michelangelo. This artist is most famous for his work on the ceiling at the Sistine Chapel. He often locked himself in his home for days at a time, sometimes forgetting to feed himself. This was due to his anxiety and depression. His attention to detail has led to many speculations that he also had obsessive compulsive disorder.
- May is mental health awareness month. Mental health May started almost a century ago in 1949. Mental Health Month first started off as Mental health week that was started by Clifford W. Beers. However he had been starting a movement for this issue since early 1908.
Mental health is really important for your general well being. It is a really important issue, and the more we know about it the more we can do to have a healthy mind. I hope that you have learned something new today, and will use it to educate or help others! And as I always say, a happy mind equals a happy life!
*How Gratitude Changes Your and Your Brain
*Study Reveals Fourfold Range in Rates of Mental Health Problems Among U.S. Children Based on Relational and Social Risks