It’s important to be aware of one’s mental health all year round, but the month of May is our designated annual reminder. Use this month to learn ways to advocate for yourself and for others, build healthy and sustainable habits, and break the stigma that can still surround taking care of one’s mental health by better understanding its different facets. Below, we’ve collected some resources to aid the community in these efforts.
Mental Health and Wellness for Kids
This large collection of books for children covers everything from self care and mindfulness (e.g. yoga, meditation, and other practices) to managing overwhelming emotions and compulsions, and guidance for parents and caregivers with neurodivergent children.
Mental Health and Wellness for Teens
One of the largest mental health challenges that teens encounter today is managing stress and anxiety. Our Teen section has plenty of guides for developing strong self care practices; managing overwhelming feelings; and understanding depression, eating disorders, bipolar disorder, ADD and ADHD, and other mental health experiences. We also have memoirs and fictional stories that provide both windows into and mirrors of life as a teen experiencing stress and mental health disorders.
The library has put together a self care cart in our Teen Space with coloring books and colored pencils; crafting and wellness guides; and titles about managing grief, anxiety, depression, stressful emotions, and mood disorders. Teens and tweens are more than welcome to ask one of our librarians for help finding additional resources as well.
We will also continue to have our regular Makerspace Open Studio Hours from 3-5:00pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. These hours are dedicated to anyone age 10+ who would like to stop by to do something creative alongside our Teen Librarian. The makerspace is also open anytime the library is open, for anyone over age 16, and kids accompanied by an adult caregiver.
Mental Health and Wellness for Adults
These fiction and non-fiction books bring together relatable stories of living with mental health challenges; guides for how to tackle self care in our fast-paced, over-stimulating world; and learning materials for individuals exploring specific mental health disorders.
Mental Health and Wellness DVDs
These DVDs available at the library will help you kick off a variety of wellness practices, including Tai Chi, meditation, yoga, and physical fitness, tailored to different areas of focus. We also have a number of documentaries that focus on the science behind mental health.
Mental Health and Wellness During Hard Times
A Loved One is Sick: Books for Kids
If a child in your life has a loved one who is experiencing dementia, a chronic or terminal illness, or other condition that will impact how your child will interact with them in the future, these books will help build their understanding and compassion, and prepare them for the possibility of loss.
Books About Bereavement and Loss
Grief is one of the most challenging seasons we experience in life. The collection of titles below includes memoirs about grappling with loss, graphic novels sharing both fictional and real-life experiences with grief accompanied by illustrations, reflections on reconciling life and death, guides for how to manage grief as a family, and children’s books that can be comforting to all ages.
Grieving a Loved One: Books for Kids
Losing a loved one – whether a pet, friend, family member, or member of the community – can be a difficult experience to comprehend as a young person. This collection includes picture books that will help children better come to terms with a loss, as well as tactics for caregivers facilitating these difficult conversations.
Building Mental Health through Community:
Attend a Library Program
Former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy sounded the alarm on the nation’s “loneliness epidemic”. In an article citing his findings, WBUR reported that “being socially disconnected increases your risk of depression, anxiety and suicide, as well as heart disease, stroke, dementia and premature death”. In an age where everyone is online, one way to counteract loneliness is through regular in-person gatherings. The Medfield Public Library provides a whole calendar of opportunities to meet new people and build relationships over time!
Our Craft & Chat sessions are open to all adults. Bring your own craft and come chat with other crafters while you work. Show and Tell encouraged. If you don’t have a portable craft or want to try something new, you are welcome to borrow some supplies from the Makerspace!
Throughout the summer, Craft & Chat sessions will be held outdoors when the weather allows. Check out our Events Calendar for details.
Throughout the month, we host “Games With Friends” sessions that either focus on word games or strategy games. We will always go over the rules so no worries if you’ve never played before! Check the event calendar linked above for details on our next meetings.
Presented by Medfield Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC), this group is a place for parents and caregivers supporting children with Down Syndrome. The group meets every first Monday of the month at 10:15am, but check our calendar to confirm in case of changes. Additional resources and meetup groups details can be found here.
We also have plenty of book clubs, lectures, and classes throughout the month, as well as story times and drop-in activities for kids (a great place to meet fellow caregivers and parents). Browse our calendar to check out everything we have going on!
Medfield Outreach
Medfield Outreach is a municipal department dedicated to providing access to high quality behavioral health and social services for Medfield residents in order to optimize wellness in our community. Their core services include:
- Free and confidential counseling
- Needs-based assistance and referrals
- Prevention programming (substance misuse prevention & suicide prevention)
