Mental Health Awareness Month 2023

May is mental health awareness month. And it is something that the legal community really needs to start incorporating. I mean, I know I talk about mental health openly (and frequently), but surprisingly not all legal professionals are like that. Weird, right?

Mental health awareness month needs to be more than just lip service, more than just social media posts. Although those things are good at getting the word out, the fact of the matter is that mental health awareness is something that needs to happen in our everyday conversations. It needs to be the junior associate saying they are struggling and someone else in the firm saying how can we help. It needs to be the profession as a whole not making it feel like it will be an anchor on your career if you speak up. Too many lawyers are sinking into depression, substance abuse, suicidal ideation, and other mental health struggles. And for the most part they are doing so in silence.

Mental health awareness month is the perfect time to start the conversation, the perfect, ready-made opportunity to break out of past conventions. However, this month should not be the beginning AND end of the conversation. As we will be saying throughout this month, the conversation needs to keep going long after mental health awareness month is done. Otherwise we haven’t actually raised the awareness of mental health issues.

At the LegalMind Society, we work everyday to erase the stigma surrounding mental health challenges in the legal profession. We will be honest in the hopes that others are encouraged to be honest. To get help if they need to and if they are ready to take that step, or to at least know they are not alone if they aren’t ready to seek help. Because help will be available, regardless of whether it is mental health awareness month or not.