2026 Mental Health Awareness Month | Week 4 Blog by Dr. Sabina Mauro
With so much emphasis on mental health today, one message is consistently shared: support is available. While that may be true, accessing it is not always as straightforward as it sounds.
There is a common assumption that if support is available, people will naturally seek it out. For instance, we may expect that if someone is struggling, they will reach out, make a call, send a message, or ask for help. However, in reality, it often does not unfold that way.
Support is not only about the resources available to us. The way we access support is often shaped over time by culture, life experiences, and the environments we have been part of. For some, support may not have been readily available or may have been discouraged. For others, it may have been more accessible, but not always consistent. Over time, these experiences shape how we relate to support and influence the beliefs we carry about when and how it should be used.
For example, it may involve feeling that things should be handled independently, wondering if something is serious enough to bring up, or not being sure what asking for help might mean. As a result, some people may handle things internally and move through challenges on their own, while others may seek reassurance, comfort, or connection more quickly. Although these patterns are not always obvious, they shape how accessible support feels.
It can be helpful to pause and reflect on your own experience. For example, how has your upbringing shaped the way you approach support?
At its core, support is anything that helps us feel less alone in what we are experiencing and provides a sense of clarity, stability, or connection throughout our day. Support does not look the same for everyone, and there is no single right way to receive it, only what is effective for each individual.
For instance, support may come from a trusted friend or family member, or from a professional who helps make sense of things. It can also come from physical presence, such as a hug, or emotional space, such as having the ability to speak freely and feel heard. Sometimes it is quieter, such as someone sitting with you without needing to say anything at all. Other times, it may be practical, such as help with a task, a chore, or guidance through a situation.
At times, accessing support may still feel difficult. For example, it may involve starting to write a message and then deleting it, considering making an appointment and then putting it off, or thinking about sharing something and deciding it can wait. These moments reflect the space between recognizing that something feels difficult and feeling ready to reach for support. Even in those moments, support does not disappear, although it may not always feel accessible.
There are also situations where support may be limited, inconsistent, or difficult to find, and that experience is real. When that happens, support may begin in smaller ways, such as moments of self-awareness, accessing information, or gradually identifying safe and available resources over time. For example, it may come from words in a book, a voice in a podcast, or a moment of recognizing that something feels slightly different than it did before.
When we begin to access support, it can serve different purposes. For example, it may help us better understand what we are feeling, move through challenges more effectively, or reduce the weight of carrying something on our own. Accessing support is a natural part of how we adapt, cope, and continue moving forward, and it is part of being human.
Increasing awareness of how we approach support creates an opportunity to access it more intentionally. When we recognize what we need, such as reassurance, space, or connection, we are better able to reach for the type of support that aligns with that need.
Over time, these small shifts, such as recognizing what you need and allowing yourself to reach for it, can begin to change the rhythm of your days. Not all at once, but gradually, in ways that often feel subtle in the moment. This is often when the number of good days begins to increase.
As you move through your week, take a moment to reflect on what kind of support you may need right now. For example, it may be reassurance, space, someone to talk to, a hug, or help with a task. You do not need to act on it immediately, because simply noticing is a meaningful first step.
