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Mental health has a different definition for everyone and I think that's what makes it unique and important as a whole. No matter which way you perceive it, all of it is important. To me specifically, mental health is important because it is just as significant as one's physical health is. You really can't have one without the other. It took me some time to learn this. Even if your body is healthy, it doesn't necessarily mean that your mind is. That taught me to be careful of

I've always cared for mental health and how our well being affects our behavior and relationships with others. In high school, I began volunteering and working with nonprofit mental health organizations. I learned more about the importance of advocacy and education; oftentimes we forget how mental health affects us and the people around us. I love meeting new people and hearing about everyone's stories and experiences, and I believe that learning from others is one of the bes

Since high school, mental health advocacy has been one of my passions. In college, I enjoyed studying mental health through an interdisciplinary lens, taking a writing course and an economic course on the topic. I began volunteering for a suicide hotline when I was 15 years old. That experience showed me how many people desire a space for connection, inspiring me to create Voices Meet Minds (VMM) with Natalie. We began VMM as an org for youth, and it has been wonderful to see

I was diagnosed with autism when I was 20. I had always been different, was always awkward or had a hard time with things others didn’t, but I thought I knew what autism was and it wasn’t me. It took me hearing others’ stories of people who experienced the world in ways similar to me to consider I wasn’t just different or quirky I had something worth accommodating. It was something I could finally give myself grace for and it helped me to navigate the world with knowledge rat

For me, mental health reflects the freedom to express one’s humanity, and to do that, we must collectively live presently and according to our personal truths. Though I'm definitely an introverted person who spends too much time in her own head, I've always loved spending time with others and truly getting to know them. People have so many different aspects of their personalities that show up in different parts of their lives, and usually an abundance of stories to tell. This

To me, mental health means caring for your mind and emotional wellbeing. It is another facet of our overall health that shapes our ability to engage and thrive in our daily lives. Though, while I hold that perspective now, when I was growing up in my family, mental health wasn't really viewed or prioritized in that way. I was well educated about physical health. I knew that if I got physically hurt or sick, I had to go to the doctor to get better; but I didn't know what to do

Mental health is important to me because it reminds us of something we often forget: behind every diagnosis, behavior, achievement, or setback is a human being with a story worth understanding. My own experiences have taught me what it feels like to search for connection, to navigate healing, and to realize that our struggles do not define our worth. They become part of the stories that shape us. Those experiences inspired me to pursue my PhD in clinical psychology, but they

My journey with mental health began in college, when I was struggling with the stress of school and being away from my family. I underwent therapy, spent a lot of time editing videos as an art student, and went for long runs in Richmond, VA, to help manage my stress. Understanding and defining my own struggle, as well as who I was becoming, was a challenging but enriching time in my life. Mental health is important to me because I think we all struggle in some way, with inter

The stories you don’t hear still exist. Some of them sit in silence at dinner tables. Some of them live in group chats that never say the full truth. Some of them are carried by people who smile like nothing ever happened. And some…never get told at all. April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. But awareness isn’t just about posting a graphic and moving on. It’s about sitting with the things people don’t say out loud. What stays hidden Sexual assault isn’t rare. It's not “som

As the days get longer and warmer after a long, dark, and cold winter, it's only natural that we want to use this fresh start to recalibrate and accomplish our goals. According to Psychology Today , people find that the most common New Year's resolutions like starting a workout routine, working on personal finance goals, and improving nutrition are less daunting in the spring. But even though your motivation to accomplish your goals may be higher in the spring, it can also c

The five love languages were trendy a few years ago. Everyone was trying to figure out their love languages, their partners' love languages, their friends' love languages, and their family members' love languages through quizzes on Buzzfeed, social media, and other websites so they can better give and receive love from their loved ones. But what most people don't know is the research, the background, and why the five love languages are truly important in psychology. In today'

At Voices Meet Minds, we think everyone deserves to feel seen and heard in their struggles with mental health. So while it’s uncomfortable to talk about, we wanted to spread awareness of the mental health struggles in the Black community and share our genuine compassion for those who are struggling. Black adults are more likely than white adults to report emotional distress. According to the Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health, Black adults in the U.S. are mor

introduction Hi everyone, Thank you for all the support on last week's blog post and last week's content. We really appreciate it! This week, we wanted to tell our founding story at Voices Meet Minds, since it is key to understanding where we're at right now and how we want to grow and move forward as an organization. Feelings AS our foundation Voices Meet Minds didn't start as a nonprofit. It started as a feeling. A feeling that people were carrying so much inside them with

Welcome to the Voices Meet Minds Blog! We’ve been updating the blog for a while now with the Collective Journal, Thought Wall, and Stories of The System. But we know that’s not all we have to offer or to share, so we’ve decided to add blog posts to share our perspectives on the millions of things going on in the mental health space right now.

If I were a bowl, I would not be lifted new from a shelf. I would be one that shattered, but not from being dropped. From something inside it growing larger than the space allowed. I carry the philosophy of kintsugi with me because it reflects my culture and how I understand healing. Not as a return to what once was, but as an ethical act of repair. Breakage is never random. Some cracks are caused by force. Others by neglect or mistakes. And many by systems that were never de

I don't remember a lot of what I went through, and I lost/had my journals taken away as I cycled through the system. At one place I was...

My name is kelly I'm 21 and I've been in the psych ward 3 times. I have bipolar and generalized anxiety disorder...

My name is Marissa I am 20 years old and in 2015-2016 I was hospitalized 3 times. I went to a place called _______ in _____ Washington...

I have spent my life since I was 8 trying to figure out what is wrong with me. I am 16 now, and the strongest diagnosis I have got was...

I arrived at the hospital in 2019 when I was twelve-years-old, after my mom called the ambulance because my therapist at the time told...