Matters of the Mind
Chilton County Schools Mental Wellness Spring Newsletter
Did you brush your teeth today?
Mental Health is health, and it should be a priority in the same way brushing our teeth is!
The comparison between mental health and brushing your teeth makes a lot of sense, doesn't it?
In the early 20th century, forward-thinking dentists revolutionized dental hygiene by promoting preventive oral care in schools. Dental hygienists regularly visited elementary school classrooms to teach children about dental care and to demonstrate proper brushing and flossing techniques. These days it's second nature for most of us to brush our teeth daily, starting from the arrival of the first baby tooth.
One of the core initiatives to having a Mental Health Services Coordinator at our school district is promotion of mental health, well-being, and illness prevention for our students, families, faculty & staff, and community. But we can't do it alone. Like the routine of brushing teeth, mental health routines start and are enforced in the home.
Mental health should be part of our daily routine – a habit to maintain our well-being.
What we need is the mental health equivalent of brushing our teeth. We need clear consistent habits that protect the health of our minds. It’s not that humans by nature require fluoride toothpaste and a vinyl toothbrush. It’s more that in the context of our modern diet and lifestyle, this is how we can protect our teeth. There are a lot of mind sugars out there such as social media, immediate gratification, unlimited communications that without mental hygiene can become corrosive over time.
Soaring rates of anxiety and depression mean that not thinking about mental health until there’s a serious issue is like not brushing your teeth until you need a root canal. Prevention doesn’t mean you won’t have issues, but it does mean those issues will be less severe and less costly. Also, the reason to focus on prevention isn’t because you will experience issues. Even if you have no reason to feel you are at risk for mental health conditions, mental health hygiene can support a more vital, energized life.
Read more about "mental health sugar" and mindcare in a high sugar world here, Why We Need the Mental Health Version of Brushing Teeth (Psychology Today)