As a Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultant,  a part of our training was to do a checkup from the neck up. It was making sure not only our outer appearance was on point, it included our mindset. We had to be excited about the opportunity to enrich someone’s life.

As I think about the check up from the neck up it is about raising awareness encouraging people to seek support if they are feeling sad, depressed, or the blues for more than 2 weeks. I think about the way mental illness is being portrayed through the media; that no one is safe around a person that may have a mental health challenge. Getting the necessary help and support early is one key to preventing the tragedies as a result of an undetected or untreated mental health challenges.

I know that there are a plethora of resources that you can research to find out that the resource is not available in the community that you live in. This is an ongoing challenge in our country because of the gaps in services as well as the same services are duplicated in order for one to profit more than the other.

In my experience both personally and professionally the hardest thing is not learning about what is out there, it is actually going to get the help that is available to you and the embarrassment admitting that you need support to get a checkup  from the neck up. Good news, there is not one way to access the support. The recommendations are not in any specific order and can be done one at a time or all at the same time. I am not a licensed mental health professional. I am a trained mental health provider that connects people with opportunities and resources to address mental health challenges and trauma in a culturally responsive manner.

Here are a few suggestions that can get you started:

1. Communicate to a health provider, counselor, or a trusted person that you have been feeling sad longer than 2 weeks.

2. Connect to your spiritual support system and ask for support.

3. Go to your local Public Health District or Community Mental Health Center about different support groups.

4. Change your exercise routine, eating habits, and sleep patterns that may interfere with your mood.

It is my prayer that attention to the mental checkup is as important as the physical checkup so that all people can be mentally, emotionally, and spiritually healthy.