Welcome to the 2018 Each Mind Matters/SanaMente toolkit for May is Mental Health Matters Month. With the theme of “Deeper Connections: From Small Talk to Real Talk,” we’re focusing on strengthening social support networks, which research suggests can contribute to a healthier, happier life. Additionally, we are excited to offer our first fully bilingual toolkit in English and Spanish, aligned with our efforts to better reach California’s diverse Latino population through SanaMente: el Movimiento de Salud Mental de California.
On this page, you’ll find the new Each Mind Matters/SanaMente Ribbon Wall Activity, designed to encourage open conversations about mental health, while reducing social distance between people who are struggling and potential helpers.
The Ribbon Wall Activity asks your participants to complete three simple steps:
- Choose a question and write a response on a green ribbon. Mental Health Matters Month is a time when we help raise the community’s awareness about mental health issues and encourage people to support others around them. Research suggests that when people engage in a specific type of affirmative writing exercise, they are more open to hearing information about health challenges and more likely to make personal changes and engage in healthy practices themselves.
- Hang their ribbon on a public display area. Placing a ribbon on a public wall display is a form of public commitment. Public commitments encourage people to follow through on a new action, and are longer lasting and more effective than private commitments. People who have publicly committed to a small action are also more likely to say yes to larger future commitments to the same cause.
- Select an affirmation/support card to keep or share. You’ve probably had the experience of wanting to show support for someone, but not know what to say. The Each Mind Matters affirmation/support cards can help. It’s an easy way to show support and bridge the distance between someone who is struggling and someone who would like to help. Alternatively, people can choose to keep a card for themselves. These affirmations are written in a positive, future-oriented and realistic manner which research has shown has a powerful impact on improving people’s self-perception.
Also in this toolkit:
- Mental Health Support Guide (English and Spanish)
- Mental Health Matters Month Poster (English and Spanish)
