Mental Illness Awareness Week was established in 1990 in recognition of efforts by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) to educate and increase awareness about mental illness. It takes place every year during the first full week of October.

During Mental Illness Awareness Week, we asked Impact Norwood Youth Ambassadors to reflect on their own mental health.

Mental illnesses are diagnosable health conditions. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that “mental disorders are conditions that affect a person’s thinking, feeling, mood, or behavior and affect their ability to function or relate to others" (1).

May 1st kicks off the start of National Mental Health Awareness Month. As some may know, Mental Health Awareness Month started in 1949 by the Mental Health America organization and is observed each year to increase mental health awareness.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), about 6 million American men have a diagnosis of major depressive disorder every year. Unfortunately, research also shows that men are far less likely than their female counterparts to seek help for all mental-health problems, especially depression.

Researchers exploring mental health have noticed a trend of increasing anxiety with platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and even LinkedIn. In fact, researchers have found that using social media obsessively causes more than just anxiety..

Mental, physical, and social health are essential for all individuals, and as our understanding of this triangular relationship grows, it becomes ever more apparent that they are interwoven strands of life

Impact Norwood’s second installment in a series of blog posts on how we, as a community, can help keep Norwood youth healthy and safe. This week it’s all about healthy beliefs and clear standards!

During the month of March, Impact Norwood will be addressing how we, as a community, can build protection for youth in Norwood. Each week we will dive into one of four key aspects that will help young people stay safe and healthy.

On February 5th, the Impact Norwood Substance Use Prevention Coalition was one of 112 community coalitions honored during a graduation ceremony at CADCA’s (Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America) National Leadership Forum, just outside of Washington, D.C.

There are a lot of myths about mental illness. Due to stigma, or negative attitudes about a group, and lack of understanding of what mental illness is, both students and educators are being left in the dark. This lack of clarity can lead students to feel isolated, misunderstood and even destructive.

Impact Norwood is extremely excited to announce our first ever speaker series, kicking off on October 25th. The goal of this series is to educate parents about the adolescent brain and children's mental health.

Curious about the first step of prevention? Want to help us learn more about the community?

Did you know that just by changing the language we use could be the difference between someone seeking treatment for a substance use disorder, or not?

Swag and events and volunteers, oh my!