Highlighting Mental Health Awareness Month

FORT CAVAZOS—During the month of May, the Department of Defense recognizes Mental Health Awareness Month. It’s an opportunity to highlight the mental health issues that service members face and the resources that are offered to them.
“Historically, there was a lot of stigma associated around mental health or seeking help for issues, for mental health concerns,” stated Maj. Julie Skiles, the Behavioral Health Officer for the 69th Air Defense Artillery Brigade.
After the Wars on Terror, there was a growing need for mental health treatment and resources for soldiers to engage with. Seeing the need, the Army started embedding mental health providers within units, and these providers started establishing more resources to deal with the health problems that soldiers faced.
Taking the initiative to where it is today, there are still misconceptions about mental health.
“That initial thought of, oh, I’m weak, if I seek treatment when I’m struggling with something that’s starting to go away,” said Staff Sgt. Baltazar, Ivan, the Behavioral Health NCO for 69th Air Defense Artillery Brigade. “People generally think that you must be “crazy” if you are going through a mental health or behavioral health issue, which is not the case.”
“I think, as time has gone by, the stigma will be dispelled; you get a lot of people openly talking about going to behavioral health, acknowledging that they do struggle with things; the military is actually a hard job,” Skiles said.
During Mental Health Awareness Month, leaders and soldiers can learn about the different resources available to them. Many tools are offered to help build a service member’s resiliency. These tools include skills that can help tackle new issues and resources to help address problems that come in the way of life because “there’s absolutely no one on earth that has a perfect life,” said Skiles.
“I always say it’s just a crisis that you already know how to handle on your own, but at the time, you forget about the tools in your toolbox,” said Baltazar.
That’s important in soldiers’ lives, not just for work but also in their personal lives.
“Being resilient, improving your mental health, improves all facts of your life, it makes you a better soldier and leader, it makes you a better spouse, it makes you a better parent, it improves your outlook on life,” said Skiles.
It’s the same as staying in shape; it requires working out and is a continuous process.
One of the key terms that the Army focuses on is readiness. Service members have to stay physically ready and keep their equipment ready. There’s also the component of being mentally prepared, which ties to the readiness of the formation to go and fight our nation’s wars. This month, the DoD has a chance to pay attention to the personal aspect of it as well.
“Mental Health Awareness Month is a chance for everyone to add that exclamation mark on something that really should be addressed every day of every year,” said Skiles.