The internet abounds with information about mental health. However, it can be hard to know where to look and which sources to trust. These mental health articles help narrow things down a little.

Mental health is something that concerns everyone. We all have difficulties and stressors, and we could all use some help figuring out how to deal with these things.

When we are faced with challenging or unexpected situations and events, the thoughts we think can make all the difference in how successful we are with handling them. Increasing our awareness of our thoughts also increases our overall mental wellness.

Mental wellness depends on our ability to respond to the world around us, rather than just reacting to it. Often we have automatic thoughts that we react to without intention. Awareness gives us more of an ability to respond intentionally.

One of the first steps to increasing awareness is increasing knowledge. It is hard to be very aware of something that we know very little about. That is why I have compiled this list of articles regarding mental health.

Mental Health Articles Everyone Needs to Read

Okay, so you do not necessarily need to read every article. I have included a description of each so that you can find the ones that are most applicable to what you want to learn.

This list also includes both scholarly and layperson articles. “Scholarly” refers to research articles published in research journals. These articles are great for learning more but can be a little difficult to apply personally sometimes.

That is why there are also layperson articles. “Layperson” does not mean that they are not professional, but rather that they are written to be more easily understood and digested. They are still written by people with backgrounds and education in mental health who have a great deal of knowledge and understanding about their topics.

I have also organized them according to the different phases of pursuing mental wellness. Although these phases could be much more broken down, here you will find three broad categories.

First, learning about mental wellness. Second, increasing mental wellness. And third, maintaining mental wellness.

Whichever part of your mental health journey you are currently in, you will likely find worthwhile information in all three categories of these mental health articles.

Learning About Mental Health Articles

Learning is the first step of any journey. Literally. From the moment we are born, our experiences are shaped by our knowledge and understanding.

After all, what is experience, except for a practical method of learning? All forms of education are valid and important, from formal education to lived experience, to learning from the people around us. There are so many opportunities to learn!

The mental health articles below are exactly that, an opportunity to learn. As you read them take some time to ponder on how they apply to you specifically.

Scholarly Article: Mental Health Literacy

This article gives a comprehensive overview of mental health as it relates to mental illness. The two are often conflated, which can be problematic. However, this article does make some differentiation between the two.

In addition, it addresses what people can do who are not seeking professional help for mental illness. Because professional help is more likely to be researched than self-help, there is not as much research about the benefits of self-help.

It is encouraging that this article takes a look at self-help and what people can do to increase their mental wellness. Especially people who are experiencing symptoms of mental illness!

Overall, this is a refreshingly applicable scholarly article that is not weighed down by statistics and psychotherapy jargon. It gives some concrete, easy to use suggestions for ways people can pursue help for mental health.

Scholarly Article: Mental Health Consumers’ Experience of Stigma

While not every aspect of mental health has an accompanying stigma, pursuing help for mental illness certainly does. Just being associated with mental illness has a stigma.

This article looks at the stigmas associated with mental illness. As you begin your mental wellness journey, it is helpful to know what stigmas are out there surrounding it. You might even have some of your own that you are not aware of.

Knowing what biases and stigmas color our judgment helps us to recognize and deal with them when they crop up. They almost certainly will. Although the world is gradually becoming more compassionate toward mental health and illness, misunderstandings abound.

After reading this article you will have a better understanding of the misconceptions surrounding mental illness. It is not all negative though. You will also have a better understanding of strategies that can be used to cope with and combat those misconceptions.

Scholarly Article: Mental Illness & Mental Health

I love this article! It differentiates between mental illness and mental health, which is huge. It also explores areas of positive psychology.

Positive psychology stems from the idea that life without mental illness is not necessarily high-quality mental wellness. Things can be done to elevate mental health beyond a simple absence of mental illness.

This article also takes a look at how mental health differs at different points in a person’s lifespan. For example, older people are less likely to experience mental illness than younger people.

The fact that older people tend to be more mentally well is encouraging to younger people who are currently struggling with mental wellness. The way that life is now is not the way it will be forever.

Layperson Article: The Characteristics of Mental Health

Sometimes the right layperson article beats the scholarly ones out by a mile. This is one such article. Granted, it was on the third page of Google results instead of the first.

That is the thing about using a regular old Google search when trying to find information. The first couple of pages were full of results regarding mental illness, rather than mental health.

But this article–this article does a stellar job of differentiating between the two. Not only that, but it offers solutions for staying mentally healthy.

Seriously, this article is fantastic. It gives a great overview, solid suggestions, and pulls things together in an easy-to-understand format.

Improving Mental Health Articles

A common knee-jerk reaction to learning something could be improved is figuring out how to do so. Better solutions come from a better understanding.

As you read, if something sticks out or does not quite make sense, feel free to research it further. This is not a be-all, end-all list of mental health articles. You might even find it helpful to find a book about the topic in question.

With the increase in mental health awareness, there has also been an increase in mental health resources. If you find a particularly helpful resource, feel free to link it in the comments below so that we can all learn together!

Another great way to find resources is to look at the sources linked at the end of scholarly articles. Legitimate research requires an understanding of what has already been done. The sources linked are other areas of research that the article authors pulled from to substantiate their own research.

So check out the articles below, and if you find them helpful, check out the articles they themselves have pulled from.

Scholarly Article: Mental Health First Aid Training for the Public

When we think about first aid training, we generally think about the physical stuff. CPR, first-aid kits, and emergency responders. However, mental health crises are just as important as physical health crises.

This article discusses the effectiveness of mental health first aid training. One of the interesting outcomes was that people were more willing to endorse knowing someone with or personally having a mental illness after the course than they were before the course.

If you are interested in receiving mental health first aid training, there are a few different avenues. The most accessible appears to be https://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org/.

Scholarly Article: Mental Health, Resilience and Inequalities

This article is macro rather than micro. In other words, it looks at the big picture instead of the individual picture.

It goes in-depth about different things affecting mental health. This includes personal choice and personal intervention, but also the societal choice and societal intervention.

Arguments abound over whether people come by their personalities and behaviors through nature or nurture. Most people agree that it must be a bit of both. Nurturing comes from the people around us and the environments in which we live.

It is helpful to look at the ways changing environments could lead to better mental health outcomes. This article offers some insight into how this could be done.

Layperson Article: Building Better Mental Health

This article gives a brief overview of mental health and then dives right into what people can do to improve mental health. It is especially helpful because it addresses some of the common barriers in the way of developing mental wellness.

Not only does it offer strategies for building mental wellness, but it also explains each one in detail and then offers advice on how to apply them. It really does a good job of breaking things down to a usable level.

In addition, the article offers holistic solutions. It includes typical psychotherapy solutions but also explores different aspects of how physical health contributes to mental health.

Maintaining Mental Health Articles

Not everyone is in a place where they are looking to learn more or increase mental wellness. Some people have already done the work in both those areas and are looking to maintain their current mental wellbeing.

Some of us are more mentally well in some areas than others. It helps to maintain the wellness we already have. Especially when we are trying to improve in other areas!

These articles are about maintaining mental wellness. They explore what different people do to stay on track mentally.

Scholarly Article: Older People Maintaining Mental Health Wellbeing Through Resilience

One of the best ways to figure out how to maintain mental health is to look at how people who have been around for a minute are doing it. Our elderly population has lived long enough to learn a thing or two about being mentally healthy.

This article takes a look at what contributes to both good and poor mental health in the elderly. It examines the variables that can increase or decrease health.

Of note, some of the stark contributors to poor mental wellbeing were loneliness and a loss of autonomy. Social health is vitally important to mental health. So is having some self-sufficiency.

People need to feel that they are of value to others and to themselves.

But the article does not stop at just pointing out the problems that lead to poor mental wellness. It discusses what counteracts these barriers and helps people increase and maintain their wellbeing.

Scholarly Article: Mental Health Promotion Through Resilience

Do much research on maintaining mental wellbeing and you will find that resilience is a common factor. This article looks into what makes people resilient in the first place. Being able to understand what makes people resilient helps us increase these factors at different points in a person’s life.

Furthermore, this article explores the effectiveness of a resilience training program. While resilience can be something that is naturally built during a person’s life, it is also something that can be pursued.

When a person is resilient it improves overall wellbeing, not just mental health. It enables people to bounce back from hard times. Resilience also helps us be compassionate toward others undergoing hard times.

Layperson Article: Maintaining Mental Health

The beauty of this article is its simplicity. If you printed it, it would fit on a single page. Sometimes the best articles are the shortest ones!

And even though it is short, it is packed with good information. It is essentially a list of 16 things people can do to maintain their mental health.

Ranging from avoiding isolation to being physically active, the tips are simple but applicable. They are not groundbreaking, but solutions do not need to change the world, they need to work.

In Conclusion

This list of mental health articles is by no means comprehensive. It is not meant to be. It is meant to give you a good base of information for your mental health journey.

Which one is your favorite? Do you have a favorite mental health article that should be added to the list? Feel free to comment and share your information with the Lighten the Dark community!