Mental Health Awareness Month: Time for self, loved ones, and being present

As a therapist, May—Mental Health Awareness Month--- reenforces the importance of Time. It's a time to pause, reflect, and gently remind us that mental health is not just for people in crisis but a necessity for all.

This week, I’ve been especially reflective about the role of time in healing. I sat with parents who recently lost their young child to an illness. I couldn’t help but think of my own loss; I remembered my own pain. Time does not erase grief, especially the unimaginable loss of a child, but it reshapes it. Grief never fully leaves, time helps it soften, change texture, and helps us find meaning.

In this work, self-care becomes a means for survival. Not bubble baths or spa days, but the basic kind: drinking water, stepping outside, taking a breath. It’s also learning to ask for help, to say no, and to give yourself permission to feel everything. In my case it was a late-night gym session with a close friend, which led to some much-needed sleep, another important self-care component.

I also encourage all of us to check in on our loved ones. Not with the quick, “How are you?” but with real presence: “How are you, really?” We all carry invisible loads.

And perhaps the greatest gift we can offer—whether to ourselves or others—is our presence. Not solving all the problems-- just being. Because healing happens in connection, in slowness, in being seen.

This month let’s give ourselves and those we love the gift of time. Time to grieve, time to heal, time to be our true selves!