May is Mental Health Awareness Month: Local Ways to Care for Yourself and Others

Every May, the country pauses to talk about mental health. In Warren County, that conversation hits closer than most. We share the same schools, the same job sites, the same Friday-night ball games, and the same waiting rooms. When one of us is struggling, it shows up in all of those places.

That’s why this month our coalition is focused on something simple: small, real ways to support mental health — in ourselves, in our families, and in our neighbors. Not a campaign. Not a slogan. Practices anyone in Warren County can start this week.

Why this matters here

Mental health and substance use are connected. Anxiety, grief, untreated depression, and unmanaged stress are common drivers of self-medication — with alcohol, with prescription medication used outside of a prescription, and with illicit substances. When we get better at protecting mental health on the front end, we reduce overdoses, ER visits, custody losses, and funerals on the back end. Prevention starts a long way upstream of a crisis.

10 small practices to try this week

Pick one. Not all ten. One. Do it for seven days and notice what changes.

1. Move your body outside for 15 minutes. Walk a loop at Pepper Branch Park, Milner Recreation Center, the Greenway, or just down your own road. Sunlight and gentle movement do measurable work on mood. No gym required.
2. Text one person you care about. Not a group thread. One person. “Thinking about you, hope today is decent.” That’s the whole message. Connection is medicine.
3. Protect your sleep. Pick a bedtime and defend it for a week. Most adult mental health problems get worse on five hours of sleep. Most get better on seven.
4. Cut the doom scroll. Set a 20-minute daily cap on news and social feeds. Use the timer on your phone. What you take in shapes how you feel.
5. Eat at regular intervals. Skipping meals spikes anxiety and crashes mood. Three meals or three plus a snack — real food, on a schedule.
6. Check on one neighbor. Especially an older neighbor, a single parent, or someone you haven’t seen at church or work in a few weeks. A knock and a hello is not nosy — it’s how communities work.
7. Learn the warning signs. Withdrawal from people they normally see. Giving away possessions. Sudden calm after a long low period. Talking about being a burden. If you see these, don’t wait — ask.
8. Practice the direct question. If you’re worried about someone, ask them: “Are you thinking about hurting yourself?” Research is clear: asking does not plant the idea. It opens the door.
9. Save the crisis numbers in your phone right now. 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. 741741 for the Crisis Text Line (text HOME). 1-800-662-4357 for SAMHSA’s national substance use helpline. Take 30 seconds and add them as contacts.
10. Know where Narcan is. Free Narcan and training are available through our coalition’s Caring Library. Knowing what to do in an overdose isn’t paranoid — it’s prepared. We’d rather you carry it and never need it.

Local and statewide resources

You don’t have to figure this out alone, and you don’t have to wait until things are at a breaking point. Reach out at any stage.

If you or someone near you is in crisis right now

• 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline — call or text 988. Free, confidential, 24/7.
• Crisis Text Line — text HOME to 741741. 24/7 text support with a trained counselor.
• Veterans Crisis Line — dial 988, then press 1. Or text 838255.
• Tennessee Statewide Crisis Line — 855-CRISIS-1 (855-274-7471). Mobile crisis teams across the state.

Ongoing Mental Health Support in Our Area

• Cheer Mental Health (Volunteer Behavioral Health Care System) — outpatient mental health and substance use services with an office serving Warren County. Visit vbhcs.org for current locations and intake information. 931-473-9649
• Hope House Counseling & IOP Treatment Program – Offering in person and virtual intensive outpatient options. Offers mental health and substance abuse services. 931-271-8267
• Centerstone — community mental health services across middle Tennessee, including telehealth options. Visit centerstone.org. 877-467-3123
• NAMI Tennessee — free peer support groups, family education, and a helpline for navigating mental health care. Visit namitn.org. 615-361-6608
• SAMHSA National Helpline — 1-800-662-HELP (4357). Free, confidential, 24/7 referrals to local substance use and mental health treatment.

How our coalition can help

The Warren County Prevention and Intervention Coalition exists for moments exactly like this — the moment you realize someone you love is in trouble, or that you are. Three direct ways we can help today:

• Caring Library: Free Narcan and overdose response training, available to any Warren County resident. No paperwork, no judgment.
• Recovery navigation: We can help connect you or someone you love with a treatment provider that actually fits — insurance, level of care, location, all of it.
• Coalition involvement: If prevention work matters to you — in your church, your workplace, your school, your neighborhood — join us. We meet, we plan, and we put real resources into Warren County.

Contact us to request Narcan, find an event, or join the coalition.

One last thing

Mental health is community health. The neighbor you check on this week, the kid you actually listen to, the friend you finally call back — those choices stack. Small steps, repeated, change a county. Pick one practice from the list and try it this week.