JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – New Year’s resolutions are pretty much the same every year, right? Get in shape, eat better, make more money…
But recent studies found a new resolution nearing the top of many lists: bettering mental health.
Melissa Brown, a licensed mental health counselor in Jacksonville, told News4JAX she’s not surprised by the trend.
“In fact, I’m really happy to hear that,” she said. “When I first became a counselor, the topic of mental health was still very much taboo. That was about 12 years ago.”
Brown said a lot has changed for the better since then.
“I just see so many more people talking about mental health, especially on social media,” she said.
Despite its often negative reputation, social media can have positive effects on mental health, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Those include:
- Easier access to mental health resources
- Advice from specialized professionals
- Online support groups or communities
“It allowed us to see we all kind of deal with a lot of the same things more than we’ve realized previously,” Brown said.
That was an important shift culturally in our attitudes toward mental health disorders.
Back in 2019, an American Psychological Association poll found that 39% of Americans surveyed agreed that “people with mental health disorders scare me.”
Brown said the work is far from over to erase the stigma around mental health, but we’re making progress.
“We are definitely coming over the hump,” she said.