Educate and Advocate: Mental Health Awareness

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Throughout the 2020-21 season, the UNC women's basketball team will highlight various causes, dedicating the year to advocating for and bringing awareness to issues that are near and dear to the Tar Heel student-athletes and coaching staff.

UNC hosts Notre Dame Sunday and the team has dedicated the game to raising awareness of mental health, which includes our emotional, psychological and social well-being, and is just as important as physical health. A wide range of mental health conditions can impact our mood, thinking and behavior.

Some facts about mental health:
• Many factors contribute to mental health issues, including:

Biological factors, such as genes or brain chemistry
Life experiences, such as trauma or abuse
Family history of mental health problems (mentalhealth.gov)

• One in five adults experiences mental illness and that figure is even higher – 29 percent – among young adults ages 18-25.
• Despite progress, one person still dies every 40 seconds from suicide. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among young people aged 15-29 years. (WHO.int)

• Some early warning signs of a potential mental health problem: (mentalhealth.gov)

Eating or sleeping too much or too little
Pulling away from people and usual activities
Having low or no energy
Feeling numb or like nothing matters
Having unexplained aches and pains
Feeling helpless or hopeless
Smoking, drinking, or using drugs more than usual
Feeling unusually confused, forgetful, on edge, angry, upset, worried, or scared
Yelling or fighting with family and friends
Experiencing severe mood swings that cause problems in relationships
Having persistent thoughts and memories you can't get out of your head
Hearing voices or believing things that are not true
Thinking of harming yourself or others
Inability to perform daily tasks like taking care of your kids or getting to work or school

• Ways to maintain positive mental health include: (mentalhealth.gov)

Getting professional help if you need it
Connecting with others
Staying positive
Getting physically active
Helping others
Getting enough sleep
Developing coping skills

This week our team participated in random acts of kindness, sending notes of appreciation and gratitude to some of the many people who make their student-athlete experience possible. We also met with Jeni Shannon, a counseling and sport psychologist and Director of the Carolina Athletics Mental Health and Performance Psychology Program, to talk about mental health and three science-based strategies to promote mental health: mindfulness, self-compassion, and gratitude.

There is often a stigma around mental health and seeking help. Let's end the stigma by talking about mental health and letting others know there is hope and understanding and that they are not alone.

You can help by educating yourself on warning signs, helping to normalize the steps of asking for assistance and seeking care, and offering your support to others.

The following organizations offer opportunities to learn more and make an impact:
• UNC Counseling and Psychological Services (https://caps.unc.edu/)
• National Alliance on Mental Illness (https://www.nami.org/)
• National Institute of Mental Health (https://www.nimh.nih.gov/)
• Mental Health.gov (https://www.mentalhealth.gov/basics/what-is-mental-health)
• Look up therapists in Chapel Hill Here: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/nc/chapel-hill

Together we can end the stigma around mental health.

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