May has been observed as Mental Health Awareness Month in the United States since 1949. The Mental Health America organization launched this awareness campaign and conducts themed activities every year.
Some celebrities have already spoken out about their battles with mental illness, and in the past couple of days, a few have posted to social media about their efforts, in to help with mental health awareness and initiatives.
Singer and actress Selena Gomez, revealed her bipolar disorder diagnosis in April 2020 during an Instagram Live series. On Thursday, Gomez posted a screenshot of her iPhone notes to her Instagram, stating that she has launched a new Mental Health 101 educational campaign in collaboration with her beauty brand, Rare Beauty.
Mental Health 101 is, as Gomez puts it, the education she wished she'd had in school. The initiative is "dedicated to supporting mental health education and encouraging financial support for more mental health services in educational services," according to her second Instagram post on the topic.
The post contains statistics about mental health, a petition calling for increased support for mental health services in schools, and a link to a fundraiser for the Rare Impact Fund that she launched last July.
The Rare Impact Fund aims to raise $100 million over the next 10 years to provide mental health services to underserved communities. Once Gomez reaches this goal, the Rare Impact Fund will become one of the largest known funds supporting mental health from a corporate entity.
Meanwhile, singer and actress, Demi Lovato, is also doing her part in Mental Health Awareness Month. On May 1st, 2021, Lovato posted a message to her Instagram about her partnership with Alliance for Eating Disorders Awareness. Her caption stated that she is doing this "to ensure that eating disorders are part of the conversation."
In the past, Lovato has opened up about her struggles with both bipolar disorder and bulimia. She was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2011, and revealed in an interview with American Way magazine that she began binge-eating and purging at age nine. She has also released several documentaries which focus on her mental health. One of her documentaries, Simply Complicated, can be found on YouTube.
A third celebrity to post about their part in May's Mental Health Awareness campaign is rapper, Big Sean. In 2018, he opened up to Billboard about having depression and anxiety.
"Had some things to work out in my head...I never really took the time out to nurture myself, to take care of myself. It took me a lot of depression having a lot of anxiety to realize something was off," the artist explained.
"I've been getting myself together, getting my mind right. So I have been taking better care of myself and...not only am I bringing my best self to the music but I'm bringing my best self to the table, to my city, to my fans, to the people who are about me."
On May 1st, Big Sean posted a nine-minute video, in which he speaks alongside his mother about mindset. The video's title implies that he will be posting one video for each of the five weeks this month.