What Is Mental Health Awareness Month — and Why It Matters

— By Brian Mears, DNAP, APRN, CRNA, PMHNP-BC

Because mental health is health.

Every May, we pause to recognize Mental Health Awareness Month — not just as a calendar event, but as a national movement to elevate the conversation around mental wellness.

This month is about more than facts and statistics. It’s about real people — individuals, families, communities — facing struggles that aren’t always visible. It’s a reminder that behind every smile, there may be a silent battle. And behind every breakthrough, a story of courage.

At Alleviant, we believe that awareness is the beginning — but action, empathy, and innovation are what truly create change.

Mental Health: A Vital Part of Every Life

Mental health isn’t just about having a diagnosis like anxiety or depression. It’s about your:

  • Emotional resilience

  • Capacity for joy and connection

  • Ability to handle stress, adapt to change, and live with purpose

  • Brain function and clarity

  • Sleep, energy, focus, and mood

When these systems are off, life can feel heavy, chaotic, or out of control — even if everything “looks fine” from the outside.

Why This Month Is So Important

Let’s look at the numbers:

  • 1 in 5 adults in the U.S. experience mental illness each year¹

  • 1 in 6 youth aged 6–17 experience a mental health disorder annually

  • Suicide is the second leading cause of death among people aged 10–34

  • The average delay between symptom onset and treatment is 11 years

  • Over 50% of adults with mental illness receive no treatment at all

But it doesn’t have to be this way.

What’s Getting in the Way?

Many people avoid getting help because they:

  • Feel ashamed or weak

  • Don’t want to be labeled

  • Think their symptoms “aren’t bad enough”

  • Had a bad experience with traditional psychiatry

  • Don’t know where to start

That’s why we need more than awareness. We need a new model of care — one that’s compassionate, personalized, and rooted in science.

How Alleviant Is Changing the Mental Health Conversation

At Alleviant, we practice Objective Psychiatry — a brain-first approach that uses tools like spectral EEG (sEEG) to visualize brain function and guide treatment.

We don’t guess. We map.

Our comprehensive, whole-person care includes:

  • sEEG brain scans to see how the brain is functioning

  • NeuroSync™ — our personalized stimulation protocol that helps optimize and synchronize neuronal activity

  • Medication management — guided by genetic testing, when needed

  • Therapy and counseling — for emotional processing and behavioral change

  • Health coaching — to address sleep, nutrition, toxins, and deficiencies

  • Spiritual support — when requested, to align healing with faith and purpose

This Month, Let’s Normalize the Conversation

  • Talk openly about your struggles — and listen without judgment

  • Ask for help — and encourage others to do the same

  • Share accurate, hopeful information — not fear

  • Prioritize your brain health the way you would your heart or lungs

  • Remind yourself: there is no shame in needing help — only strength in seeking it

Your Mental Health Deserves Attention Every Month

But this May, let it be the month you start.

If you’ve been waiting for a sign, this is it. You are not alone. You are not broken. And you are not beyond healing.

Reference

¹ National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), 2023 Statistics

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Recognizing the Hidden Signs of Mental Health Struggles

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Breaking the Stigma: Why Talking About Mental Health Matters