May is Mental Health Awareness month, an opportunity to self-evaluate and to reach out to those around us. There are many types of mental health challenges. Some are manageable with changes to routine and behavior. Some can be handled with appropriate therapies. Others may require medication to correct a chemical or hormonal imbalance or deficiency. Regardless of the treatment method, understanding and support are always helpful. If someone you know got the flu or had a cancer diagnosis, you wouldn’t tell them to get over it, toughen up, or “physician heal thyself”.

More than one in five adults currently deals with the challenge of mental illness. We’d like to think that we’ve come a long way from Victorian era sanatoriums with people chained to beds and electroshock therapy, but for many people, we have only traded a prison cell for a zoo pen – out in the open but not free and always with the expectation of being watched. People change their behavior when they know others are watching. In psychological research this is known as the Hawthorne effect. In everyday life, we modify how we present ourselves based on assumed social norms of propriety.

The poet Anna Arredondo put it this way, “If you but knew what weakness lies concealed within this adamantine outer shell. What woes, what worries I’m too proud to tell. If you but once should tiptoe past this shield.” The lyricist Susan Evans McCloud put it this way, “in the quiet heart is hidden sorrow that the eye can’t see.” Decorum, appearances, social status, and popularity are cultural norms that encourage us to where a mask of unperturbed cheerfulness. “I’m fine.” Beyond pride and self-conscious worry, as a society we also value privacy – especially of our vulnerabilities. We don’t want to appear weak or incapable. It can also be a very real concern that some stranger using technology will make a mockery of our struggles or pain in an attempt to feel powerful or gain notoriety. Cyberbullying is a serious issue. Nearly one in four middle or high school students has experienced cyberbullying in the past month. Two out of every five American adults have been a victim of online harassment. The mental toll these challenges take can be crippling.

As you think about your own mental well-being and that of those you care about, the library has a number of great books that can expand your knowledge and your skillset when life’s challenges try to push you down. Languishing: how to feel alive again in a world that wears you down by Corey Keyes provides great insights for dealing with the constant grind of everyday stress. Here I am, I am me: an illustrated guide to mental health by Cara Bean is a great visual survey of the many factors that affect our mental health including feelings, brain chemistry and more. The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt gives a fascinating and unsettling tour of some of the environmental factors that are contributing to mental health challenges among children and teens.

We have many more books on specific mental health topics, and we can point you toward trustworthy online resources to find more information. If you are struggling with a mental health challenge, don’t be afraid to talk to a loved one or seek professional assistance. It’s okay to not be okay. Not every day is sunny. Not every food is sweet. We hope you’ll consider the library as a safe harbor while navigating life’s challenges. Stop by to spend time with a friend. Learn about something new. Try a new skill. Find some quiet. Find some entertainment. Be inspired. We’re always happy when you stop by.

The library is located at 17 N. Broadway and is open to the public Monday-Thursday 9:30 a.m.-8 p.m. and Friday-Saturday 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m.