The Girl from Outer Space by Carter Brown

Umhau: As an artist and poet first, I have always seen creativity as the most potent medicine for wellbeing, and the most powerful tool for healing and emotional processing.

This is what it means for us to explore.” And I think that exploration is key to mental health in general. There’s a lot of response to Black trauma around chronic illness and disability, but there’s not a lot of spaces where we’re saying, “Hey, this is what joy means to us. How did you combine your creative pursuits with mental health?Įrica Christian: I’ve always been a huge advocate for being able to access wonder and exploration in process toward engaging with food and beverage. We never know when something so simple as a hello, a smile or an act of kindness can alter someone’s day - or life. Janelle Whisenant: MHAM, in its simplest yet likely most important detail, reminds us to reach out to friends and family - maybe those you haven’t heard from in a while - or just to check in and let someone know you love them or are thinking of them.

Read on for their insight into how to integrate mental health awareness into your everyday lives and social experiences.ĭistrict Fray: What does MHAM mean to you?Ĭarter Umhau: My hope is that bringing awareness to mental health issues also means bringing awareness to the myriad ways diverse struggles require diverse solutions of care - in the systemic and the deeply specific and creatively personal. In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month (MHAM), we caught up with three local community builders in this space: Erica Christian, founder of Empowering the Diner and creator of Satiated Carter Umhau, a licensed psychotherapist, artist and writer who works to create healing spaces that can be integrated into people’s everyday lives and artist Janelle Whisenant, whose work focuses on themes of mental health. The District is brimming with opportunities to support mental health awareness, from self-care pop-ups celebrating the diversity of D.C.’s service industry to sensory experiences promoting self-expression through food and art. creatives on how to support, engage and collaborate during Mental Health Awareness Month.

The Girl from Outer Space by Carter Brown