May is Mental Health Awareness month in Chautauqua County.
Tapestry Resilience Initiative Project Coordinator and Director Rachel Ludwig said it’s a great time to talk about mental health in an open way just like the way people talk about physical health, “It gives us an opportunity to theme around talking about the differences in treatments that are available now, so many evidence-based practices, and really normalizing mental health. That there’s a wide continuum when you think about mental health just as you would with physical health. There’s wellness and there’s illness that’s on a wide continuum and all of us are on that continuum and it’s important to kind of share that space.”
Chautauqua County Mental Hygiene Department Deputy Director Trish McClennan said the Pandemic brought a lot of people together and made it acceptable to talk about some of the mental hardships, “We hear a lot about self-care over the past couple years. We hear a lot of about organizations and people supporting one another. I know at our local community hospital a lot of people at different restaurants would bring over meals for ICU nurses or emergency departments to help them in their support.”
Ludwig said while there is a continuum of health, there is a continuum of support. She said everyone has the ability to be helpers with reaching out to ask someone if they’re okay, “And really be present and listen for the answer, so I think that’s been another opportunity too. It’s not just about having a mental illness and going to therapy, it’s about we all have mental health and we have to be aware about how we’re feeling, how we’re doing. And that there’s a lot of different opportunities. Now there’s a lot of focus on wellness apps, now there’s a lot of opportunities, such as Trish mentioned for self-care, so not calling it therapy sessions for example.”
The Chautauqua County Department of Mental Hygiene can be contacted at 716-753-4104. The Chautauqua County 24-7 Suicide Prevention and Crisis Hotline is 1-800-724-0461. You can also find more information online at chqgov.com/mental-hygiene
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