8 Mental Health Advocates Share Their Life-Changing Advice

October is a spooky month, where we hop on over to our favorite orchard, pick every apple and pumpkin in sight, take loads of Insta-worthy pictures and, my personal favorite, eat hot cinnamon sugar donuts and drink apple cider. 😍

However, October isn’t just a time to celebrate all things autumn — it’s also a time to promote mental health awareness!

That’s right. Mental Health Awareness Week is Sunday, October 4 through Saturday, October 10, which means it’s time to shift into maximum overdrive and promote even more mental health awareness.

Mental Health Awareness Week 2020 also means it’s been a full year since I launched Your Friend Jane’s Your Story series, where y’all are invited to write and send in your stories of mental health and personal growth to be featured on here. Last October, to kickoff the series, I asked four of my wonderful friends to contribute their mental health stories, and the series has been a hit ever since!

So, to celebrate this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week, I asked eight mental health advocates and professionals to share a piece of life advice. From finding the right therapist to showing yourself a bit more kindness, they have a lot of inspiring advice.

1. Bea Sellwood

Bea Sellwood, or beasellwood, is a mental health and skin blogger I’ve been following since starting yourfriendjane’s Instagram journey in May. In fact, her blog, Mental Health, Bad Skin and ‘Normal’ Life, is where I got the idea to write this blog post, as she had asked me a few weeks ago to contribute my own life advice for a post she was writing. I was so inspired by her and her blog that I thought, “Hey, I should do that on here!”

“I think advice is always a tricky thing to give. Everyone’s situations are so different that one thing works for one person, it may not for another. The thing I’ve learned is that it may take awhile to figure out what’s best for you, but don’t give up. Healing, whether it be skin, mental health or anything you are going through, is not linear. There will be ups and downs, and learning that this is okay is a big step to starting to feel confident in your progress. You have to look at the world as a whole. Everyone has flaws, no one is perfect and these ‘flaws’ make us who we are, so don’t run from them. Embrace them. It takes time, but things do get better. Surround yourself with good people who support you and what you are going through. This will make the process 10 times easier.”

2. Laura Jones

Laura Jones of Hello Happee is an illustrator, blogger, small business owner and mental health advocate I’ve admired for years. With more than 192,000 followers on Instagram, she creates colorful illustrations about personal growth and being kind to yourself, all while balancing her full-time job as a teacher!

“Take it one day at a time. When I committed to counseling in university, I went in thinking that getting to a place of mental wellbeing is a linear process, that if you follow the steps, it’ll just get continuously. The truth is, looking after your mind is a journey that’s full of ups and downs, but you just have to take it one day at a time. Be patient, gentle and kind to yourself, and really let yourself heal. Be prepared to commit to looking after your wellbeing, because you are in this with yourself for life. This relationship with yourself, it’s the most important important you’ll ever be a part of. Respect that.”

2. Elise Petronzio

Elise Petronzio of theocdopus is a mental health advocate, small business owner and friend I’ve known for awhile. (I’m best friends with her sister!) On her TikTok page, ocdopus, she records relatable, funny and informative TikToks about OCD awareness. She also sells OCD-related stickers, t-shirts and more on Etsy!

“There is a quote that I saw once and never forgot. ‘We are never beyond hope or help.’ When I feel hopeless, I remember that, because it’s true. There is nobody in the world who has tried every treatment, and just because you haven’t found what works for you doesn’t mean nothing will work for you. Will it be easy? Almost certainly not. But can something be done that could help? Everyday, I learn that the answer to that question is most likely yes.”

3. katelascola

Kate of katelascola is a mental health advocate and writer for her blog, She’s Moving Mountains. On her blog, she shares honest and inspiring stories about her mental health as a college student.

“Mental health is valid, and do not listen to anyone else who tells you differently. It’s hard to wake up and deal it with every day, but it’s necessary. Some days are more difficult than others. Do not skip over your thoughts or avoid self-care. You get this one life, and it’ll be amazing. Take it one day at a time. You cannot pour from an empty cup.”

4. Dr. Karyne Messina

Dr. Karyne Messina of karyne.messina is an empowering, knowledgable and supportive psychologist and writer I’ve been following for a few months. She posts a lot of useful information about mental disorders and self-care, as well as inspirational messages.

“I think the most important thing you can do when starting out on a personal mental health journey is to find the right therapist. Sometimes, it takes making an appointment with a few people before deciding who might be the best fit. That’s not to say therapy is ever easy, but it’s important to feel there is an initial connection between you and your therapist…The main qualities you want your therapist to possess are empathy, the capacity to listen without constantly inserting advice, patience, flexibility and the ability to acknowledge mistakes.”

5. Mike Delasandro

I met Mike Delasandro in 2016, when were in a few journalism classes together at our community college and both worked for our college’s student newspaper. Over the years, he’s been incredibly supportive of Your Friend Jane and my mental health advocacy. As a writer and mental health advocate, Mike is incredibly courageous, passionate and honest, as he was a part of the Your Story launch last October, with his article “Mental Health is a Cycle.”

“Anxiety is a tricky thing. It hinders almost every facet of my life. You’ll plan something out in your head, play it back 4,000 times and hope to get it right, and then things just don’t go the way you want them to. The first thing I would do is blame myself for some reason or another. I would spend weeks fixated on why I did one thing a week or a month ago that had no one at fault. At some point, you have to figure you did your best in the situation and that there doesn’t always have to be at fault, and it definitely doesn’t have to be you. It is so important that you don’t allow yourself to get trapped in a bad place because of something out of your control.”

6. bee.thebrave

Bethany (bee.thebrave) is a mental health and skin advocate who I connected with after contributing to Bea’s blog post. She’s super supportive, shares amazing advice and has killer style!

“Having always struggled with mental health and the ability to trust in myself and my feelings, I’d say getting to know yourself in depths and becoming your own best friend will be your biggest life success. It’s a hard road, but once you connect to your worthy, inner-self, it’ll feel like having the best friend, big sister and mentor wrapped in one. “How?” I hear you ask. Delve into your past to gain clarity on why you feel, act and react to things the way that you do. Validate all the things you may find difficult to understand and accept about yourself. Having a deep sense of understanding about yourself opens up so many avenues you’ll have longed for, trust me. And trust in you!”

7. doraknowssomething

Dora of doraknowssomething is a qualified counselor and mental health advocate who I absolutely adore. I love when she posts on Instagram, as her posts are always full of helpful tips, like journaling prompts and self-love reminders.

“Everyone has a story to tell, and we all experience things differently. What was relevant to me, may not be to you. As you embark on your own mental health journey please remember that everything will be okay! Remember that, everyone’s journey differs and some may take longer than others. As you go through your journey, you will discover things about yourself, things that may and may not sit well with you. Allow yourself the time to explore these things, and over time, you will find your peace in your own personal acceptance.”

8. Ashley Flachner

Ashley Flachner of ash.selflove is an awesome mental health advocate I recently connected with. In fact, she contributed to the Your Story series last week, with her story “A Message of Gratitude to Myself!” Since connecting with her, Ashley has been incredibly supportive and inspiring.

“Going through life with anxiety and obsessive thoughts is not an easy task. You live inside your head with hypotheticals that take you out of reality. My advice is to use grounding techniques to bring you back into reality and out of your cyclic mind. Out loud if possible, list all of the things you see or feel in detail: ‘I am on a brown, soft couch, watching The Office. I see the black television on a red wall. Next to me, is my dog, and her paws are soft and warm.’ These techniques help me get out of my mind with intrusive thoughts and bring me back to where I actually am, and I forget about what I was anxious about. You are so strong, and remember, you’re not alone!”

Let every piece of advice remind you that while we each lead different lives, we all often share commonalities — we know what it’s like to feel scared, hopeless and alone, to a degree. You aren’t as alone as you think you are, and your story is certainly worth telling.

Your friend,
Jane

P.S. What’s a piece of advice that has completely changed your life? Let me know in the comments below!