Matters of the Mind

• MAY: Mental Health Awareness Month
• UNE: School Safety Month

• 1: Principals Day & School Lunch Hero Day

• 3-9: Teacher Appreciation Week
• 6: School Nurse Day
• 11-12: Senior Exams

• 18: Speech language Pathologist Day
• 18-21: Final Exams
• 22: LAST DAY OF SCHOOL 🎉🎉

Character Education Calendar

• Mental Health Awareness Month
• April 27-end of School: Mental Health Awareness + Erin's Law

While most Americans say there is no shame in mental illness, 35% of adults admit they’d view someone differently if they knew they had a mental health condition.

88%

Percentage of U.S. adults who say that having a mental health disorder is nothing to be ashamed about, with 83% saying they are generally comfortable talking about their mental health.

84%

Percentage of U.S. adults who think the term “mental illness” still carries a stigma. Similarly, 35% of adults say they would view someone differently if they discovered that person had a mental health condition.

55%

Percentage of U.S. adults who cited feeling emotionally safe as the reason they chose to share their mental health struggles with someone else, with 54% saying that experiencing relief was why they shared their struggles.

By Tori DeAngelis Date created: September 1, 2025

Vol. 56, No. 6. - https://www.apa.org/monitor/2025/09/mental-health-stigma

Situations happen in our lives. We have an Experience. We form a belief from that experience. (It matters whether that's a true belief or a beLIEf.) From that belief, we form expectations. From expectations we form beliefs.

An example, I enter a room with a new group of people I barely know and several of them give me grimacing looks. Then I form the belief that new people aren't going to like me. And because of forming this belief every time I meet new people my expectation is that no one is going to like me. Then my behavior changes and I have a lack of confidence in a room of new people and act quiet or stand off-ish. My experience continues. We can change behavior but that doesn't always work. We can change expectations but that doesn't always work. We cannot control others, so we really cannot change the true experience. But if we evaluate the belief - we will find if its a true belief or a lie belief. And when we discover that, it can change the expectations.

An example, if I enter a room now after this cycle of new people and someone gives me a grimacing look but I chose to believe in that moment that some of those in the room were just sad or maybe had a bad day, and then I believe that I am loved and those people are missing something by not getting to know me. Then my expectation is that I can enter the room and speak first or even ask if they are okay. My behavior will follow, and it will change my experience to solidify my future beliefs. We can change what we believe by really evaluating whether its a truth or not. After all the word LIE can sneak into the middle of beLIEfs.

It takes a paradigm shift or perspective shift to change the beliefs that I carry. A paradigm is a perspective, set of ideas or assumptions we make. A paradigm shift is to shift the assumptions, perspective, or set of ideas that we may believe but aren't truth. We can gain perspective of things by gathering facts, but sometimes our point of view is still wrong about those facts. Just because my boss looks unhappy with me today doesn't mean he/she truly is. The fact is they just look unhappy. The perception or assumption in that statement is because my boss looks unhappy and didn't smile at me, I must be the problem. We think this is based off fact, when in reality its through the lense of the goggles we're using to fine tune our focus. If I focus on this person didn't smile at me, I will feel and believe I'm rejected and it will effect all my future outcomes with my boss. If I focus on the fact that my boss seems unhappy or sad, I might try and smile and say hi first, and then it will change my future dealings and outcomes with my boss. (For the positive effect). We can never truly go wrong with choosing kindness first and choosing beliefs that encourage who we are, and encouraging who others are even if its uncomfortable.

So today, when you think about your Mental Wellness (good and bad) as yourself, do I need a perspective and belief shifting? If so, then journal about your negative life experiences. See where you can change your beliefs and make your day or someone else's brighter too! Give off some extra sunshine in your attitude this summer!

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Email: mddicus@chiltonboe.com

Website: https://chiltonboe.com/mental-health-matters

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