Jana Marie Foundation’s next Mokita Dialogue shines light on importance of mental health

Jana Marie Foundation shines light on the importance of mental health during its next Mokita Dialogues session on Thursday, April 28, from 11 a.m.-noon.

The recent news coverage of increasing mental health needs leaves us all asking — what can we do to help?

May marks Mental Health Awareness Month, providing us all with the opportunity to combat the misconceptions, prejudices and discrimination that often surrounds mental health.

Mental health is often considered to be the absence of a mental illness or disorder, yet it isn’t that simple. The World Health Organization defines it is a state of well-being in which the individual realizes their own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to their community.

Being mentally healthy means having realistic, helpful and productive thinking. When we feel mentally well, it’s easier to have more of a growth mindset and we can more easily tap into coping strategies to help us move past hardships and even thrive in the face of adversity.

It’s important to recognize that good mental health doesn’t mean feeling happy all of the time or never having feelings of stress. Nor does it mean that we will never develop a mental health challenge or experience a mental health crisis. However, it does help mitigate some of the risk and may help lessen the impact on our lives.

We can draw a comparison here to our physical health. We engage in daily routines to be proactive in taking care of our bodies. This includes things like getting enough sleep, eating healthy, exercising, maintaining healthy social connections, and so on. Although we make this a priority, we know we can still get sick or injured sometimes. However, these routines help lessen some of the impact and hopefully helps us recover more quickly.

Everyone faces challenges in life that can impact their mental health, making these courageous conversations crucial to have not just during the designated month, but each and every day.

Mental health concerns effect our way of living, laughing, loving and playing. In other words, it impacts all aspects of our lives. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in five people will experience a mental illness in their lifetime, yet less than half will receive help.

Historically, there has been a silence that has surrounded the topic of mental health, something that Jana Marie Foundation and other organizations work each day to combat. Through education, awareness and community-wide conversations, we can remind people that it is OK to reach out for help and it is OK to reach out to help someone.

The Mokita Dialogues on April 28 will provide an opportunity for community members to come together, dispel myths about mental health and engage in conversations about ways we can continue to shed light on this topic throughout the year. This dialogue is free and open to the community. Join through Zoom by visiting www.tinyurl.com/MokitaDialogues.

For the past five years, Jana Marie Foundation’s Mokita Dialogues series has shined a light on a variety of topics of vital social concern that often go unaddressed or unnoticed. Held the fourth Thursday of every month, these discussions include a brief presentation, engaging activities that encourage thought and conversation, and suggestions for ways to continue the discussion.

The word “mokita” comes from the Kilivia language, native to Papua New Guinea, and means a known truth left unspoken — think of it as the notion of the elephant in the room. Join us to learn, to listen and to be engaged in finding solutions for these important issues.

It is time to come together to acknowledge the “elephants” that exist across our community and how we can address them.