In recent weeks, mental health discussions sprouted from the unlikeliest of places: the Tokyo Olympic Games.
After gymnast Simone Biles’ recent departure — and stunning return — to the Olympic stage after a brief mental health break, she tackled the subject head on during interviews. The four-time Olympic gold medalist stepped away briefly from the Tokyo Olympics and withdrew from several competitions after realizing she wasn’t in the right mental headspace.
"We also have to focus on ourselves, because at the end of the day, we're human, too," said Biles, according to The Associated Press. "We have to protect our mind and our body, rather than just go out there and do what the world wants us to do."
As a nod of unity to the talented gymnast for talking about mental health, we decided to round up mental health quotes of the day for you to share. Quote them to your staff daily, send them in an email, or even put one on a sticky note placed on someone’s desk who you know needs it.
Ready to inspire your own mental health conversations at work? Read on.
Mental Health Quotes of the Day Your Team Will Love
These quotes are a great way to start conversations about mental health.
As the pandemic wears on, we’re learning more about mental health and its impact on everyone’s life — even the toughest people struggle with it — just refer back to Simone Biles’ story in the intro! The more your company leadership has discussions around mental health, the easier it will be to break the stigma.
Start with putting these quotes somewhere visible — like on a bulletin board or written on a break room whiteboard. They’ll serve as little reminders that your employees are never alone.
Here are 35 mental health quotes to encourage your workplace conversations:
- “There is hope, even when your brain tells you there isn’t.”
― John Green - “If you are broken, you do not have to stay broken.” — Selena Gomez
- “This feeling will pass. The fear is real but the danger is not.”
― Cammie McGovern - “Promise me you’ll always remember — you’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”
— Christopher Robin from Winnie the Pooh - “Sometimes the people around you won’t understand your journey. They don’t need to, it’s not for them.” — Joubert Botha
- “What mental health needs is more sunlight, more candor, and more unashamed conversation.” — Glenn Close
- “To think too much is a disease.”— Fyodor Dostoyevsky
- “PTSD is a whole-body tragedy, an integral human event of enormous proportions with massive repercussions.”
— Susan Pease Banitt - Some days I am more wolf than woman, and I am still learning how to stop apologizing for my wild.” — Nikita Gill
- “Nobody can save you but yourself, and you’re worth saving. It’s a war not easily won, but if anything is worth winning then this is it.” — Charles Bukowski
- “Don’t let your struggle become your identity.” — Unknown
- “Anything that’s human is mentionable, and anything that is mentionable can be more manageable. When we can talk about our feelings, they become less overwhelming, less upsetting, and less scary.” — Fred Rogers
- “Mental health…is not a destination, but a process. It’s about how you drive, not where you’re going.” — Noam Shpancer, PhD
- “The strongest people are those who win battles we know nothing about.”
— Unknown - “You don’t have to be positive all the time. It’s perfectly okay to feel sad, angry, annoyed, frustrated, scared and anxious. Having feelings doesn’t make you a negative person. It makes you human.” — Lori Deschene
RELATED: 21 Mental Health Awareness Month Activities for the Workplace - “Change what you can, manage what you can’t.”
— Raymond McCauley - “Your present circumstances don’t determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start.” — Nido Qubein
- “If you can’t fly, run. If you can’t run, walk. If you can’t walk, crawl, but by all means, keep moving.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.
- “What I love about therapy is that they’ll tell you what your blind spots are. Although that’s uncomfortable and painful, it gives you something to work with.” — Pink
- “One small crack does not mean that you are broken, it means that you were put to the test and you didn’t fall apart.” — Linda Poindexter
- “The bravest thing I ever did was continuing my life when I wanted to die.”
― Juliette Lewis - “More smiling, less worrying. More compassion, less judgment. More blessed, less stressed. More love, less hate.” ― Roy T. Bennett
- “We accept the love we think we deserve.” — Stephen Chbosky
- “There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power or our will.” — Epictetus
- “What we don’t need in the midst of struggle is shame for being human.” — Brene Brown
- “Do not set aside your happiness. Do not wait to be happy in the future. The best time to be happy is always now.” — Roy T. Bennett
- “Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.” — Lou Holtz
- “What would you do if you weren’t afraid?” — Sheryl Sandberg
- “To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
- “The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change.” ― Carl Rogers
- “Talk to yourself like you would to someone you love.” ― Brené Brown
- “Everything can be taken from a man, but the last of the human freedoms: to choose one’s attitudes in any given set of circumstances.” –Viktor Frankl
- “We need 4 hugs a day for survival. We need 8 hugs a day for maintenance. We need 12 hugs a day for growth.” –Virginia Satir
- “Every person on this earth is full of great possibilities that can be realized through imagination, effort, and perseverance.” — Scott Barry Kaufmann
- “Happiness is the only thing that multiplies when you share it.”
—Albert Schweitzer
Do More Than Share Mental Health Quotes
Even though World Mental Health Day isn’t until October 10, there’s no need to wait until then to bring mental health discussions into the workplace.
In fact, it’s paramount to have those chats with your employees. Ongoing poor mental health can both negatively impact employees and the workplace due to related problems like difficulty concentrating, low energy, problematic physical manifestations, and more.
Given that the pandemic didn’t help anyone’s mental health issues, it’s essential that employees feel safe in discussions around the topic at work. Leaders must advocate for a healthy work culture and managers need to work together in developing a safe and supportive work environment for those who disclose mental health concerns.
It can start out small — like with sharing these quotes — but it goes beyond that. Start opening up more conversations today about how mental health discussions should look in your workplace.
In doing so, you’ll start seeing more productive mental health conversations and likely even more participating in any Mental Health Day events you plan.
Looking for more mental health tools for the workplace? Check out our free Mental Health Toolkit!
