Healthy Brain Tips

Healthy Tips for the Brain

You may have seen the sunny, bright yellow banners waving from light poles in villages around the North Shore that read "Mental Health is for Everyone."

The banners in Evanston, Wilmette, Glencoe, Northfield and Highland Park are part of a stigma-busting campaign launched by the Mental Health Association of the North Shore (MHANS) to help teens and adults fight the reluctance to seek help when it’s our brains that might be involved.

Research has shown that social-emotional well-being and good mental health are the vital keys for all of us to achieve at our highest levels -- in school, on the job or at home. People can’t readily access their knowledge and skills when emotionally stressed.

Kids’ test scores go up and the achievement gap begins to close in schools where social-emotional learning and mental health practices are integrated into the daily curriculum. Bullying and teasing are reduced, and kids showing signs of stress are identified early on before depression can take hold.

MHANS volunteers are working with Westfield Old Orchard to spread the word about brain health and social-emotional wellness during May, Mental Health Month. The banner, with the added message, "Don’t Give Up, Get Help" www.mhans.org will be on display in the food court, and on cute magnets for teens’ lockers.

Drop by on Saturday, May 12, 2007, to check out all the great, free information about having a healthy brain to keep your life on track.

Twenty percent of us at sometime in our lives will experience depression, anxiety or another mental illness. And the teen and college years are when suicide rates climb. Suicide is one of the top three causes of adolescent death in the U.S.

Also, check out the flag at the bottom of our banners in North Shore villages to see who’s advocating a healthy brain. Many businesses and organizations have put their names on the banner as sponsors. You can too – call MHANS at 847-328-6198. Ask your village to display the banners, too.

MHANS also has an annual Teen Essay Contest with cash prizes where teens describe the problems they face and how adults can help. This year they will read their essays on Tuesday, May 29, at the Wilmette Public Library, 7 p.m. There’s a Youth Advisory Committee for teens to join and assist with the contest and other projects.

MHANS can put you in touch with any resources or referrals you may need for social services, social-emotional wellness and mental health on the North Shore. Just call visit our website at: www.mhans.org or to volunteer call 847-328-6198.

by Sue Laue