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Make a difference in your community by spreading mental health awareness, creating a dialogue, and volunteering your time.
If you’re in danger now, call 911. If you think you might harm yourself, call 988
Truths About Mental Health
Mental health can affect persons of any age, race, religion, gender or socioeconomic status.
One in four people experience an episode stemming from a mental health disorder every year.
You’re not alone – individuals, both diagnosed and undiagnosed, with mental health disorders are neighbors, friends and family members.
Let’s Talk
Make a difference in your community by spreading mental health awareness, creating a dialogue, and volunteering your time.
Volunteer opportunities:
Bring Change to Mind NAMI Arizona
What’s the elephant in the room? Truth is that mental disorders and mental illness are common and it's likely someone you know faces mental health challenges. There is no “normal” way a person should think, feel, or act. So why do we avoid talking about mental health? It’s not weird. Let’s start a conversation. Let’s talk about it.
Self-Care is The Best Care
Your mental health affects every aspect of your life: how you think, how you feel, and how you relate to everyone around you. Practice self-care; it’s the best thing you can do for yourself.
Let’s Talk
Starting a conversation about mental health with your family or a trusted adult can be scary. They might not always ask how you’re feeling or it may seem like they don’t care. Believe it or not, opening up about how you feel is the best way to gain the support and reassurance you need.
Starting the Conversation
Write down what you want to say.
Pick a location and time that feels comfortable.
Prepare for how they may react.
Let them know how they can support you.
When it Feels like No One is Listening
Share resources with them.
Speak to another adult for support.
Try again.
Don’t give up.
Talking with your child about mental health may feel uncomfortable. This can be due to the stigma involved, lack of information or even fear of blame.
It’s probably easier to talk about other medical problems, such as food allergies or asthma. They are easy to diagnose with medical tests and people seldom think it’s anyone’s fault.
Too often, people blame mental health challenges on the person experiencing them by saying they aren’t trying hard enough, or they are doing something wrong. As a result, we can feel like it’s our “fault”, or even our child’s “fault”. It’s not their fault when they are facing mental health challenges.
Openly talking to your children is a great way to help decrease this stigma. It can be tough to know how to start the conversation. Let’s look at some helpful things you can say:
- What can I do to help you?
- I’m always here for you.
- Do you want to talk?
- I’m here to listen.
- I care about you.
Signs in Adolescents
Your mental health affects every aspect of your life: how you think, how you feel, and how you relate to everyone around you. Practice self-care; it’s the best thing you can do for yourself.
- A focus on worry or fear.
- Feeling excessively sad or down.
- Problems concentrating and learning.
- Strong feelings of irritability or anger.
- Difficulties understanding or relating to others.
- Changes in sleeping habits or feeling exhausted and low energy.
- Changes in eating habits including increased hunger or lack of appetite.
- Difficulty perceiving reality (delusions or hallucinations).
- Inability to perceive changes in one’s own feelings, behavior or personality (”lack of insight” or anosognosia).
- Substance abuse, including alcohol or drugs.
- Multiple physical ailments without obvious causes (such as headaches, stomach aches, vague and ongoing “aches and pains”).
- Thoughts of suicide.
- Inability to carry out daily activities or handle the stress of daily problems.
- An intense fear of weight gain or concern with appearance.
Signs in Younger Children
Mental health conditions can also begin to develop in young children. Because they’re still learning how to identify and talk about thoughts and emotions, their most common symptoms are behavioral symptoms such as these:
- Changes in school performance.
- Excessive worry or anxiety, for instance fighting to avoid bed or school.
- Hyperactive behavior.
- Frequent nightmares.
- Frequent disobedience or aggression.
- Frequent temper tantrums.
What about a friend or relative’s child?
If you are worried about your friend or relative child’s mental health, ask them how they are feeling and how you can help. It is important to not be judgemental or make assumptions. Be sure to mention your concern to the child’s parents and direct them to this site for help.
Parents and Teacher as Allies
This program, developed by NAMI, is an in-service mental health education program that focuses on helping families and school professionals within the school community better understand the early warning signs of mental health conditions in children and adolescents and how to best intervene together.
Parents and Teachers as AlliesFinding Help
If your child or someone you know needs help with their mental health, start a conversation. Ask how they are feeling. Learning everything you can about mental health is a valuable first step. If you feel it’s time, call a professional therapist. Also, reach out to your health insurance, primary care doctor or state/county mental health authority for more resources. Contact the NAMI Arizona to find out what services and supports are available in your community. If your child or a child you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Encourage them to reach out:
For students, these years are a critical time for social, psychological, physical, and intellectual development.
It starts with a connection
For students to feel connected with their schools, they must believe that peers and adults in their school support, value, and care about their individual well-being as well as their academic progress. It is an important protective factor that promotes the health and well-being of students. Students who feel more connected to school are:
- Less likely to engage in risky behaviors (violence, sexual health, and substance use).
- More likely to engage in positive health behaviors (physical activity and healthy eating).
- More likely to have higher grades and test scores, have better school attendance, and graduate high school.
- Less likely to have emotional distress and thoughts of suicide among adolescents.
Three simple actions that can help develop a healthy and supportive school environment.
1
Action 1
Work with school staff to create programs that help students develop social and emotional skills. Organize group activities that encourage students to practice these skills. Programs should be appropriate and culturally relevant to your students.
2
Action 2
Give students and staff access to counseling, psychological and social services.
3
Action 3
Make sure parents feel welcome in their child’s school and encourage them to be involved.
Check in with students regularly to find out how they’re feeling. Use journals or electronic polling tools.
Encourage students to take mindfulness breaks.
Encourage students to identify their emotions. Talk with them about how to express emotions in a healthy way.
Teach staff how to use role modeling and interpersonal skills to improve teacher-student relationships.
Hire certified school counselors, school psychologists, and school social workers to provide these services.
Adopt policies and practices that take into account potential trauma experienced by students.
Make sure your staff knows how to connect students to school and community support services if they need them. Encourage staff to use these support services themselves if needed.
Keep parents informed about healthy and supportive school environment policies and practices. Use your school’s website to describe how these policies and practices support student health and achievement.
Provide ways for parents to give regular feedback—for example, through surveys, emails, phone calls, and text messaging.
Ask parents to help you plan and organize activities designed to improve the school environment.
Parents and Teacher as Allies
This program, developed by NAMI, is an in-service mental health education program that focuses on helping school professionals and families within the school community to better understand the early warning signs of mental health conditions in children and adolescents and how to best intervene together.
Parents and Teachers as Allies
Is your school a mental health champion?
The Youth Mental Health Steering Committee with representatives from the Arizona Department of Education Project AWARE, Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) and Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) have banded together to recognize schools statewide that proactively tackle student mental health in Arizona.
A School Mental Health Champion addresses mental wellness through prevention, early intervention, and partnerships with community behavioral health providers. Mental health champions:
- Establish partnerships with community behavioral health (BH) providers.
- Have a process for parents to opt in and/or opt out of mental health referrals.
- Have a mental health webpage on the school website, dedicated to mental health and well-being that lists their partnered community providers.
- Issue badges for students in grades 9-12 and badges have 988 or mental health crisis numbers on the back.
- Provide staff that interact with students in grades 6-12 to receive suicide prevention training in one of the AHCCCS approved evidence-based suicide training.
Where can I direct students for help?
If a student needs help with their mental health, start a conversation. Ask how they are feeling. If a counselor is available, arrange a meeting. Be sure to mention any concerns you have to their parents or guardians. If it sounds serious, direct them to call or text the national Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, Teen Lifeline or the Trevor Project 24 hours a day, 7 days a week:
Additional Resources
Taking care of yourself and others can be hard; but you don’t have to do it alone. Review these wellness categories to find resources to help you stay healthy across all dimensions of wellness.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Help is available in many forms depending on what you’re looking for. From emotional support to therapy, or finding someone to talk to during a crisis there are resources for you. You can reach out to:
- Your primary care doctor or a mental health professional.
- A school counselor, nurse, or social worker.
- Community health clinics or behavioral health clinics.
- Your friends, family, and community.
Arizona Health Care Containments System (AHCCS).
Arizona Mental Health Resource Hub.
If someone you care about seems to be struggling emotionally or acting differently than usual, check in with them. You can:
- Ask them how they are doing, a simple check in can go a long way.
- Listen without judgement.
- Encourage them to talk to someone trusted or a mental health professional.
- Offer to go with them to seek help if they’re nervous.
In an emergency, always call 911
Arizona Crisis Response Network (Solari) - 844-534-4473 OR 988
Teen Lifeline - 602-248-8336
Bullying can be physical, verbal, or emotional and can happen in-person or online. Bullying is more than just a one-time disagreement or mean comment, it happens repeatedly. You might be experiencing bullying if someone:
- Repeatedly calls you names, insults, or teases you.
- Threatens you or makes you feel unsafe.
- Sends mean, harmful, or threatening messages online.
If any of these are happening to you, it may be bullying. It is not your fault. You deserve to feel safe and protected:
- Talk to a trusted adult.
- Report it to your school or organization.
Bullying Prevention from the Department of Education.
MustStopBullying.com
Anxiety is a natural reaction to stress or danger. When anxiety feels overwhelming, happens often, or gets in the way of your daily life, it could be part of an anxiety disorder. Common symptoms include:
- Constant worry or fear.
- Difficulty concentrating or sleeping.
- Fast heart rate or trouble breathing during stressful situations.
Anxiety is common and treatable. You are not alone.
Find mental health providers through AHCCS.
NAMI Anxiety Guide.
Mental health includes your emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how you think, feel, and act, and how you handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. Good mental health doesn’t mean you feel happy all the time, it means being able to cope with life’s ups and downs.
Just like physical health, mental health is something everyone has and it can change over time.
Mental Health American Arizona
Find mental health providers through AHCCS.
If you or someone you know is in crisis - feeling overwhelmed, unsafe, or in danger of hurting themselves or others - get help immediately. You are not alone, help is available 24/7.
- Arizona Crisis Response Network (Solari) - 844-534-4473 OR 988
- Teen Lifeline - 602-248-8336
- National Crisis Text Line - Text HOME to 741741
You may qualify for low-cost or free behavioral health services through state or federal programs.
- AHCCS provides behavioral health coverage for eligible individuals and families.
- Some community clinics offer services on a sliding scale based on your income.
- Schools and school-based health centers often provide free or low-cost services for students.
Find mental health providers through AHCCS.
Find a Community Health Center.
If local services are limited, there are still options.
- Many providers offer telehealth.
- School-based counselors can provide support and referrals.
- Use statewide or national crisis lines for immediate support and assistance finding local support.
- Mobile crisis units may be available for in-person response in your region.
Find mental health providers through AHCCS.
Find a Community Health Center.
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