Last Updated on January 18, 2025

Mental Health is a state of an individual’s mental well-being, while Mental Illness, known as an invisible illness referred to as a person’s health condition.

What causes Mental Illnesses? Although mental illnesses can be passed on in some cases, it is a preponderant misconception that mental health conditions are only related to poor physical health. Life events, such as childhood and young adulthood experiences, amid social environment and human interactions can potentially cause mental disorders.

I, as a former mental health professional, believe humans are all on the spectrum because each person has unique attributes. That said, the only difference between a so-called regular person and a person with diverse abilities is one may need a different level of support or guidance to fit in the evolving system, and the other doesn’t.

The truth is, when a person fits in well a system doesn’t always mean they do not need any mentorship or guidance. On the contrary, they might need mental health support more than they think.

Do adults need mental health support?

The 2019 – 2020 COVID-19 outbreak has significantly changed humans’ perspectives, including myself. I changed how I lived my life during the pandemic and redefined the meaning of life between 2022 and 2023.

According to multiple sources, the need for mental health resources for adults has been growing exponentially. A report released in March 2022 by the World Health Organization (WHO) suggested that the global prevalence of anxiety and depression (emotional disorders) during the first year of the pandemic increased by 25% – one major explanation for the cause was the social isolation resulting from the pandemic.

Mental health support is often underappreciated because many healthy or regular people regard mental health support as mental illness support. Go on the search engine, and key in “mental health”, what results do you see on the first page? For whatever reason, mental support is still something a person only needs when they are ill.

Stigmatization still exists.

As a matter of fact, mental health support can be obtained through various sources, from professional support to simply oneself.

Humans need companionship and friendship through other humans, animals and/or objects. That is to say, when a sense of belonging is indispensable to a human’s physical and mental (psychological) health, having access to proper mental health support plays a pivotal role in a person’s life.

reflections on mental health resources

the truth about existing mental health resources for adults

Most social services are available to people with functional needs or diverse abilities, especially children under the age of 18. As a former frontline worker, to the best of my knowledge, agencies that run these services usually rely on federal/provincial grants and funding (and the funds usually come from the taxpayers).

Of all the mental health resources, counselling is the most sought-after mental health service, followed by life coaching.

Counselling is not for everyone because it does cost a great deal of fortune to “feel better”. And the most frustrating part is that even if you invest your time and money into it, it is possible that you still cannot find the right fit.

Life coaching, on the other hand, has slowly become one of the most thriving industries since 2020. Those who believe they have the qualifications and relevant experiences devoted themselves to life coaching, so the fees have thus skyrocketed since the pandemic.

the challenges small teams are facing

Similarly, it is also arguably difficult for businesses, small businesses in particular, to find relevant service providers offering interesting and educational workshops and training. What’s more accessible and affordable is pre-recorded online courses. And most speakers are male.

Some teams may offer inconsistent professional support, such as inviting high-priced guest speakers from educational institutions one year, then ending up cutting back on extra costs the following year.

When employees do not receive consistent emotional and social support in the workplace – where they invest most of their time other than sleeping, employees’ overall health, productivity and performance could potentially be heavily affected.

In summary, mental health resources for adults and teams are practically quite limited and most are not reasonably priced.

How to Increase Adult’s Mental Health Awareness

Mental health is important for everyone. Finding suitable mental health support is no exception. Here are some tangible ways for adults and teams to increase their mental health awareness:

1. Free & low-cost Resources

• Join local community work
• Be a volunteer
• Sign up for group events, e.g., relevant support groups
• Register inspirational webinars
• Read or listen to e-books
• Explore self-help options
• Connect with nature
• Promote mental health day & team appreciation

2. Flexible services at reasonable prices

• Participate in 1:1 personal development coaching
• Attend relevant support groups either in person or via webinars
• Sign up for 1:1 and group training and/or human skills training workshops
• Host or outsource team-building activities, e.g., learning what mental health is and how to communicate effectively through fun and engaging workshops or events
• Develop fully customized employee engagement projects, i.e., projects tailored to specific objectives

Reference

World Health Organization New Release. (2022, March 2). COVID-19 pandemic triggers 25% increase in prevalence of anxiety and depression worldwide. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/news/item/02-03-2022-covid-19-pandemic-triggers-25-increase-in-prevalence-of-anxiety-and-depression-worldwide

who is Berelevant Network

Berelevant Network is a revolutionary coaching, training and consulting service provider. We offer a plethora of free, cost-effective, and scalable services and resources for adults and teams worldwide. Because of supply-demand imbalances and uneven distribution of resources, many services are only available to certain groups of people. To close the gap between funding programs and revenue-driven private services in the M-shaped society, we have been breaking new ground with our service delivery model to give hope and transform the lives of adults and businesses of all sizes worldwide.