The Importance of Mental Health: Tips for Libraries and Librarian Provision of Reference Services…

The Importance of Mental Health: Tips for Libraries and Librarian Provision of Reference Services to Help People Take Care of Their Mental Health

by
Gregory K. Tharp
Abstract
An
exploration of how librarians and other information professionals assist people
in locating self-help resources. Self-help mental health resources are becoming
increasingly important as there is an established link between mental health
well-being and physical well-being and how long people will live. Also the
increasing reliance on social media also contributes to the need for self-help
mental health resources that the average person can understand. Rather than
taking a scholarly tone, this blog post tries to be conversational to resonate
with the average person and to make librarians approachable to the average
person with no medical training and little time.
Keywords:
Mental Health; Libraries; Self-Help Resources
Like
one’s body needs exercise to stay fit, attention needs to be paid to our
thinking faculty, the brain. Hence, mental health is a good habit that makes
people more intelligent and broad minded. Therefore, the benefits one can
obtain through focusing on their mental health is immeasurable. However, as
people spend more time on social media, social media becomes a major source of
news with Pew Research (2025)
[1]
reporting that 53% of U.S. adults get their news from social media. Aside from
social media shaping people’s mental health, mental health also has a profound
impact on how long people will live. This is not professional medical advice,
but rather explains to you how your friendly neighborhood librarian, archivist,
or other information professional can help you on your mental health journey.
How
does mental health impact how long people will live?
With
the Center for Disease Control (CDC) reporting in 2024 that “heart disease
accounted for 683,812 deaths
[2]
”, it
is incumbent that medical professionals and others reevaluate how to treat
heart disease. Educating medical professionals and patients on the link between
mental health and heart health or what is known as “psychocardiology
[3]
” is
important to reduce your chance of dying from heart disease.
Also
according to Pandey (2022)
[4]
Chronic
stress may cause systemic inflammation and increase cancer mortality. Again
patient education and medical professional education is key to reducing the
risk of early death from conditions, such as cancer, exacerbated by chronic
stress. This is helpful across the lifespan because cancer strikes no matter if
you are young, old, or a child and can be devastating to both individuals and
families as well as make a huge dent in your pocketbook.
More
concerning is that chronic stress may reduce your lifespan by 2.8 years
according to an article by UF Health
[5]
. This is not good news as
you might dream of living to be over 100 years old and you don’t want stress to
put a damper on those hopes. Also the old adage, that something or someone will
give you …