About half of Americans can remember when we were not constantly connected by phone or computer to the bigger world, and some of us can’t imagine life without the marvels of the internet. Our always “tuned in to the online world” state of mind is just ONE of the many ways modern life has increased in complexity for all of us. And yet, did you know that Mental Health Month originated just after WWII? In 1949, to address all the WWII soldiers coming home with trauma, the  U.S. Congress established May as Mental Health Month.

We encourage members of the community to act toward protecting their mental health and overall well-being. Yet, “how to get started” can challenge (and potentially overwhelm) most of us. By focusing on small changes, you can move through the stressors of modern life and develop long-term strategies to support yourself and others in the co-op. Here are 10 “where to start” possibilities.

1. Walk outside. A one-block walk, around your co-op, will reinvigorate your brain and allow you to breathe the fresh spring air.
2. While you’re walking, say, “Thanks me.” When we do something for ourselves, such as creating healthy boundaries or even going to bed early, it’s not common to say, “I’m doing this for my mental health.” We forget to honor steps to protect and nurture resilience. So, take a moment to say “Thanks me” for any activities you do to safeguard your mind.
3. Rip a few pages from a coloring book and tape them on the walls in the employee breakroom, labeling them as “Art Show in Progress.” Leave crayons in the room and invite co-operators on break to “Relax your brain and color.”
4. Suggest a 5-minute yoga stretch. Do you know someone in your co-op who teaches yoga? Invite them to lead the morning crew in practicing three stretches a working co-operator can do during a shift to ease stress. In choosing stretches, stay mindful of those with physical constraints and choose simple stretches someone in a wheelchair or with limited mobility can do.
5. Create the “I struggled” wall. In a non-customer space, create a header inviting anyone who has struggled with mental health issues to leave a BLANK Post-it on the wall under the header. (Leave a few stacks of blank Post-it notes nearby.) The goal is to share awareness within the co-op of how many others have struggled without identifying individuals or explaining with words.
6. Hand each cooperator a swatch of green cloth. Remind them that May is Mental Health Month and invite them to put the green cloth in a pocket. Each time they pull it out, they can ask themselves, ‘What am I doing today to care for my mental health?”
7. Using local printing services, print out a giant sudoku puzzle and post it in an employee area with markers. Invite others to participate. You might also leave a note reminding co-op staff that play and solving riddles supports mental health.
8. Leave healthy snacks in the breakroom one day with an accompanying message reading, “These snacks are courtesy of your brain, whose message is, ‘Thank you for taking care of me.’”
9. Invite the co-op to wear green one day. Wearing green in May symbolizes support for mental health. A gesture like this may help co-operators feel valued and will send a message to your community shoppers about what your co-op values.
10. Develop co-op gratitude. Leave large Post-it notes in the employee breakroom and a wall header that invites co-operators to jot down items on Post-its and leave them on the wall. What are you grateful for at the co-op? What foods fill you with gratitude? What does a friend say that elevates your spirit? Entering the breakroom and finding/reading 50 things to feel grateful for could shift an individual’s perspective and improve their mood.

Finding a sense of calm and focusing on well-being when you are having mental health concerns can be daunting in our fast-paced society. These ideas are meant to generate conversation and bring more focus to the importance of taking care of your mental health. Entering numbers into a giant sudoku will not address the seriousness of depression or anxiety. Saying “thank you” to yourself doesn’t eliminate chronic stress. Even so, welcoming the topic of mental health into the workplace requires innovative starting points, sometimes as small as a crayon.