By Julie Gomez
As we recognize National Public Health Week, much of the conversation will focus on access to care, prevention and the systems that shape our communities.
That matters, but there is a quieter and more personal dimension of public health that often goes unspoken. It lives within each of us.
Before we make decisions about our health, our work or our relationships, we make decisions with our minds. If that space is overwhelmed, unsettled or stretched too thin, everything that follows becomes harder to manage and easier to get wrong.
We have all experienced it. Saying yes when we should have said no. Showing up when we are not fully present. Pushing through when we know we are not in the right headspace.
When mental health is ignored, it does not stay contained. It shows up in our workplaces, in our schools, and in the systems we rely on every day.
What follows is rarely our best thinking. It is miscommunication, tension and sometimes conflict. Not because we intended it, but because we were not grounded enough to respond with clarity.
Public health is not only about how we care for our bodies. It is about whether we are in a place to make thoughtful decisions at all.
In West Virginia, this is not abstract. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the West Virginia Department of Health show that our state continues to experience some of the highest rates of depression, suicide and unmet mental health need in the nation. At the same time, large portions of our state are designated as mental health professional shortage areas, leaving too many individuals and families without access to the care and support they need. This is where community-based organizations are no longer optional. They are essential.
Across West Virginia, The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is expanding into new regions, building partnerships and delivering education, support and advocacy directly into communities. The goal is not simply to raise awareness, but to ensure that individuals and families have access to the tools, resources and connections they need close to home.
That requires awareness. It requires the ability to pause and recognize when something feels off. It requires the discipline to set a boundary and say, “I am not in the space to do this right now.”
That is not avoidance. It is responsibility because when we create that space for ourselves, we show up differently. We communicate more clearly and engage with others in ways that build stability instead of confusion.
At NAMI in West Virginia, we see this connection across our communities every day. Last month, we took a significant step forward with partners across the state in launching West Virginia’s first Teen Mental Health Awareness Week. It brought together educators, providers, policymakers and community leaders with a shared focus on our young people.
Our teens are not separate from public health. They are central to it. They are the next generation of leaders, workers and neighbors who will shape our communities. How they learn to understand and manage their mental and emotional well-being today will influence how they lead and serve tomorrow.
What we heard during that week was consistent. Young people want to support one another. They want to show up for their friends and their communities, but many do not always have the tools or language to do so. That is where this work becomes essential and is not limited to young people.
During National Public Health Week, we have an opportunity to acknowledge something we do not always say out loud. Every person is carrying something.
For some, it is something they have shared with a trusted friend or family member. For others, it is something they have only written down, quietly and privately. For many, it is something they are still trying to understand.
We are not all experiencing the same things, but we are all navigating something.
The way we process it, respond to it and carry it forward shapes not only our own well-being, but the health of the communities around us.
This is where public health becomes personal. It is found in the decision to pause, take an honest look at where you are, seek support when needed and extend that same awareness and compassion to others.
Across West Virginia, there is growing momentum to recognize that health is not one dimensional. Through expanded programming, stronger partnerships and deeper community engagement, we are beginning to approach health in a more complete and connected way.
Culture does not change through programs alone. It changes through everyday choices in how we care for ourselves and show up for others, and that must become our standard, not just something we recognize for a week.
When we take care of the space within ourselves, we create the conditions for stronger decisions, healthier relationships and more resilient communities.
That is where public health begins.
Julie Gomez is the executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) in West Virginia. NAMI is the largest grassroots mental health organization in the United States.
—
Bradley Harris
Principal Strategist
Bradley Harris Strategic Advisory
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Public Health Begins With the Decisions We Make Every Day
By Julie Gomez
As we recognize National Public Health Week, much of the conversation will focus on access to care, prevention and the systems that shape our communities.
That matters, but there is a quieter and more personal dimension of public health that often goes unspoken. It lives within each of us.
Before we make decisions about our health, our work or our relationships, we make decisions with our minds. If that space is overwhelmed, unsettled or stretched too thin, everything that follows becomes harder to manage and easier to get wrong.
We have all experienced it. Saying yes when we should have said no. Showing up when we are not fully present. Pushing through when we know we are not in the right headspace.
When mental health is ignored, it does not stay contained. It shows up in our workplaces, in our schools, and in the systems we rely on every day.
What follows is rarely our best thinking. It is miscommunication, tension and sometimes conflict. Not because we intended it, but because we were not grounded enough to respond with clarity.
Public health is not only about how we care for our bodies. It is about whether we are in a place to make thoughtful decisions at all.
In West Virginia, this is not abstract. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the West Virginia Department of Health show that our state continues to experience some of the highest rates of depression, suicide and unmet mental health need in the nation. At the same time, large portions of our state are designated as mental health professional shortage areas, leaving too many individuals and families without access to the care and support they need. This is where community-based organizations are no longer optional. They are essential.
Across West Virginia, The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is expanding into new regions, building partnerships and delivering education, support and advocacy directly into communities. The goal is not simply to raise awareness, but to ensure that individuals and families have access to the tools, resources and connections they need close to home.
That requires awareness. It requires the ability to pause and recognize when something feels off. It requires the discipline to set a boundary and say, “I am not in the space to do this right now.”
That is not avoidance. It is responsibility because when we create that space for ourselves, we show up differently. We communicate more clearly and engage with others in ways that build stability instead of confusion.
At NAMI in West Virginia, we see this connection across our communities every day. Last month, we took a significant step forward with partners across the state in launching West Virginia’s first Teen Mental Health Awareness Week. It brought together educators, providers, policymakers and community leaders with a shared focus on our young people.
Our teens are not separate from public health. They are central to it. They are the next generation of leaders, workers and neighbors who will shape our communities. How they learn to understand and manage their mental and emotional well-being today will influence how they lead and serve tomorrow.
What we heard during that week was consistent. Young people want to support one another. They want to show up for their friends and their communities, but many do not always have the tools or language to do so. That is where this work becomes essential and is not limited to young people.
During National Public Health Week, we have an opportunity to acknowledge something we do not always say out loud. Every person is carrying something.
For some, it is something they have shared with a trusted friend or family member. For others, it is something they have only written down, quietly and privately. For many, it is something they are still trying to understand.
We are not all experiencing the same things, but we are all navigating something.
The way we process it, respond to it and carry it forward shapes not only our own well-being, but the health of the communities around us.
This is where public health becomes personal. It is found in the decision to pause, take an honest look at where you are, seek support when needed and extend that same awareness and compassion to others.
Across West Virginia, there is growing momentum to recognize that health is not one dimensional. Through expanded programming, stronger partnerships and deeper community engagement, we are beginning to approach health in a more complete and connected way.
Culture does not change through programs alone. It changes through everyday choices in how we care for ourselves and show up for others, and that must become our standard, not just something we recognize for a week.
When we take care of the space within ourselves, we create the conditions for stronger decisions, healthier relationships and more resilient communities.
That is where public health begins.
Julie Gomez is the executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) in West Virginia. NAMI is the largest grassroots mental health organization in the United States.
—
Bradley Harris
Principal Strategist
Bradley Harris Strategic Advisory
Download all attachments as a zip file
Public Health Begins With the Decisions We Make Every Day
By Julie Gomez
As we recognize National Public Health Week, much of the conversation will focus on access to care, prevention and the systems that shape our communities.
That matters, but there is a quieter and more personal dimension of public health that often goes unspoken. It lives within each of us.
Before we make decisions about our health, our work or our relationships, we make decisions with our minds. If that space is overwhelmed, unsettled or stretched too thin, everything that follows becomes harder to manage and easier to get wrong.
We have all experienced it. Saying yes when we should have said no. Showing up when we are not fully present. Pushing through when we know we are not in the right headspace.
When mental health is ignored, it does not stay contained. It shows up in our workplaces, in our schools, and in the systems we rely on every day.
What follows is rarely our best thinking. It is miscommunication, tension and sometimes conflict. Not because we intended it, but because we were not grounded enough to respond with clarity.
Public health is not only about how we care for our bodies. It is about whether we are in a place to make thoughtful decisions at all.
In West Virginia, this is not abstract. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the West Virginia Department of Health show that our state continues to experience some of the highest rates of depression, suicide and unmet mental health need in the nation. At the same time, large portions of our state are designated as mental health professional shortage areas, leaving too many individuals and families without access to the care and support they need. This is where community-based organizations are no longer optional. They are essential.
Across West Virginia, The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is expanding into new regions, building partnerships and delivering education, support and advocacy directly into communities. The goal is not simply to raise awareness, but to ensure that individuals and families have access to the tools, resources and connections they need close to home.
That requires awareness. It requires the ability to pause and recognize when something feels off. It requires the discipline to set a boundary and say, “I am not in the space to do this right now.”
That is not avoidance. It is responsibility because when we create that space for ourselves, we show up differently. We communicate more clearly and engage with others in ways that build stability instead of confusion.
At NAMI in West Virginia, we see this connection across our communities every day. Last month, we took a significant step forward with partners across the state in launching West Virginia’s first Teen Mental Health Awareness Week. It brought together educators, providers, policymakers and community leaders with a shared focus on our young people.
Our teens are not separate from public health. They are central to it. They are the next generation of leaders, workers and neighbors who will shape our communities. How they learn to understand and manage their mental and emotional well-being today will influence how they lead and serve tomorrow.
What we heard during that week was consistent. Young people want to support one another. They want to show up for their friends and their communities, but many do not always have the tools or language to do so. That is where this work becomes essential and is not limited to young people.
During National Public Health Week, we have an opportunity to acknowledge something we do not always say out loud. Every person is carrying something.
For some, it is something they have shared with a trusted friend or family member. For others, it is something they have only written down, quietly and privately. For many, it is something they are still trying to understand.
We are not all experiencing the same things, but we are all navigating something.
The way we process it, respond to it and carry it forward shapes not only our own well-being, but the health of the communities around us.
This is where public health becomes personal. It is found in the decision to pause, take an honest look at where you are, seek support when needed and extend that same awareness and compassion to others.
Across West Virginia, there is growing momentum to recognize that health is not one dimensional. Through expanded programming, stronger partnerships and deeper community engagement, we are beginning to approach health in a more complete and connected way.
Culture does not change through programs alone. It changes through everyday choices in how we care for ourselves and show up for others, and that must become our standard, not just something we recognize for a week.
When we take care of the space within ourselves, we create the conditions for stronger decisions, healthier relationships and more resilient communities.
That is where public health begins.
Julie Gomez is the executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) in West Virginia. NAMI is the largest grassroots mental health organization in the United States.
—
Bradley Harris
Principal Strategist
Bradley Harris Strategic Advisory
