Here we are in May–Mental Health Awareness Month. As with other national awareness months, grassroots organizations like Nami, the National Alliance on Mental Illness and agencies like the Mental Health Association participate in a national movement to eliminate the social stigma of mental illness. They aim to rally support and advocate for policies that improve the lives of those affected.
My new book The Art of Grieving: How Art and Artmaking Help Us Grieve and Live Our Best Lives is being released the 14th of May and I’m noting the similarities and differences between these two events. When we look at the history of what began as the Mental Hygiene Movement over a hundred years ago and the National Grief Awareness Day, to raise awareness of those experiencing loss and grief, we note that National Grief awareness began in 2014.
The founder of the mental hygiene movement Clifford Whittingham Beers was advised to launch his client-advocate health reform movement anonymously, but he declined and wrote a groundbreaking memoir, A Mind That Found Itself published in 1908. He exposed the realities of mental illness and his own suffering including the deplorable conditions within mental institutions of that time. A well-known literary figure of the 20th century C.S. Lewis wrote his reflections of his bereavement process when he lost the love of his life, his wife, Joy Davidman. His groundbreaking memoir, A Grief Observed, was published in 1961using a pseudonym, N.W. Clerk to avoid a connection to his other work which tells us much about the unpopularity and taboo of that topic at that time.
What’s common in all these movement that seek to change societies attitudes regarding diseases and conditions that people suffer from without support? Beers’ work identifies three key elements. 1. Mental illness (or the condition of bereavement) need to be seen as real valid conditions, treated with empathy, understanding and proper care. 2. Society’s perception and treatment can worsen the person’s condition, highlighting the need for reform and compassionate support. 3. What eventually breaks the stigma surrounding mental illness (or grief, loss, and bereavement) is the sharing of personal stories and experiences that promote awareness, acceptance, and a deeper understanding of the issues.
I must admit that my own work as a grief advocate and an artist convinced me that the art of storytelling, along with the arts of dance, music, and visual arts not only eliminate stigma but truly help us to live our own best lives and encourage others to do so as well.
When my book launches Tuesday May 14th, I am honored to join memoirists Beers and Lewis in their efforts to change the world through stories. I invite you Sunday May 5th at 5:30 pm eastern time to bring your stories and all that connected to them to the 5th and final online Reimagine program in The Art of Grieving Series: Combing the Arts for an Artful Life. https://letsreimagine.org/76768/the-art-of-grieving-series-combining-arts-for-artful-life
The book is available for pre-order on Amazon now. Here’s the link: https://a.co/d/fCLchkf
Sheila
