May is Mental Health Awareness Month

May is Mental Health Awareness Month—a time not only to raise awareness, but to reflect more honestly on what it means to care for our mental and emotional well-being. We have gotten better at having conversations about mental health, but there is still a quiet misunderstanding that persists: that struggle has to be dramatic to be valid, and that change must follow a certain timeline to be meaningful.

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s words challenge that idea:

“For what it’s worth, it’s never too late, or in my case too early, to be whoever you want to be. There’s no time limit. Start whenever you want. You can change or stay the same. There are no rules to this thing… I hope you live a life you’re proud of, and if you’re not, I hope you have the courage to start over again.”

Often shared as a message of hope, this quote carries deeper significance when considered alongside Fitzgerald’s later reflections on his own mental health. In his essays known as “The Crack-Up,” he described not a sudden collapse, but a gradual unraveling—a slow erosion of emotional resilience that left him feeling depleted, disconnected, and unable to maintain the life he once recognized.

This idea of a “crack-up” resonates in a profound way today. Not everyone experiences mental health struggles as a clear or acute crisis. More often, it presents quietly. It can look like continuing to meet responsibilities while feeling internally exhausted, or showing up in daily life while feeling disconnected from it. It may appear as irritability, lack of motivation, or a subtle but persistent sense that something is no longer sustainable.

These experiences are easy to overlook—both by others and by ourselves—precisely because they do not appear urgent. Yet they matter deeply. They are often the earliest signals that something within us is asking for attention, care, or change.

Fitzgerald’s recognition that “there are no rules to this thing” offers a meaningful perspective for how we approach mental health today. There is no prescribed timeline for when we are allowed to seek support, nor is there a standard measure for what constitutes “enough” struggle. The decision to begin caring for one’s mental health does not need to be justified by severity. It can simply begin with awareness—the recognition that something feels off, heavy, or different than it once did.

Equally powerful is his hope that we might have “the courage to start over again.” In the context of mental health, starting over is rarely a dramatic or immediate transformation. More often, it is quiet and incremental. It may begin with acknowledging that current patterns are no longer serving us, or with the willingness to explore support in a new way. It might look like scheduling a first appointment, having an honest conversation, or just allowing ourselves to consider what healing could look like, what better could look like.

Starting over, in this sense, is not an admission of failure. It is a response to awareness. It is a shift from endurance to intention.

Mental Health Awareness Month invites us to move beyond recognition and toward action—not necessarily large or visible changes, but small, meaningful steps toward change. It is an opportunity to consider what it would mean to support ourselves with the same care and understanding we often extend to others.

For those navigating anxiety, ADHD, depression, burnout, or simply a sense of disconnection, it is important to remember that support is not reserved for moments of crisis. It is available in the quieter moments as well—in the space where something no longer feels aligned.

If something in your life feels unsustainable or out of alignment, you are allowed to respond to that awareness. You are allowed to begin again—not all at once, but in whatever way feels possible.

And perhaps most importantly, you are not expected to do so alone.

To find out how I can help or to schedule an appointment , contact me at

nikki@psychsolutionsks.com or call 620-551-8465.