May, as you may have heard, is Mental Health Awareness Month. It also happens to be Older Americans Month and National Physical Fitness and Sports Month. But when it comes to media attention, Mental Health Awareness wins hands down. And it’s not hard to see why.  

Mental health conditions are increasingly common, affecting a significant portion of the population. They can have a profound impact on our lives, affecting our ability to work, maintain relationships, and cope with stress.  

It turns out that stress has been far and away the number one factor impacting Americans’ mental health according to this year’s mental health poll conducted yearly by the American Psychiatric Association. And self-reported stress has been skyrocketing during the last five years! 

• More than three-quarters of adults report symptoms of stress, including headache, tiredness, and depression (APA 2022).  

• Eighty-three percent of U.S. workers say they experience work-related stress (WHO 2022).  

• Nearly half of all U.S. adults (49%) say that stress has negatively affected their behavior (APA 2020).  

• According to this year’s APA poll, current events and safety are the two things that are stressing us most.

In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, the Amaze mental health team is ready to help us understand and manage our stress, with solutions we can employ any and every day.  Check out this webinar recording, “Mental Wellness in Daily Life,”  to learn how stress affects you both physically and mentally and to gain some life-changing tools to help you cope with the stressors that invade your daily life.