Healing Traditions: Mental Health is in Our Culture

  1. Everyday Practices That Sustain Us

    You don’t need to search far for tools to support your mental health — many are already rooted in your culture, traditions, and family practices. Our communities have always known how to care for each other and ourselves, even when formal mental health care wasn’t accessible. That wisdom is still with us today.

    Healing Traditions Are Mental Health Practices

    You don’t have to start from scratch. Healing is already part of who you are. What you may think of as “just how we live” can actually be a powerful form of emotional regulation, self-expression, and grounding. For example:

    • Spiritual practices like prayer, fasting, or lighting candles
    • Movement and rhythm through dance, drumming, or martial arts
    • Braiding and grooming as connection and care
    • Cooking and feeding others as acts of love and stability
    • Storytelling and oral traditions as ways to process trauma and preserve memory
    • Nature connection through gardening, walking barefoot, or collecting herbs

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    Reflect:

  3. What are three practices from your culture that help you feel calm, connected, or strong?
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  6. You don’t need permission to call it mental health care. You’ve already been doing it.

    Try This

    Pick one cultural tradition or ritual from the list above that you would like to be more connected to. Set aside time today to do it with intention.

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  7. Which tradition or ritual will you set aside time to do?
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  8. How do you normally feel after performing this tradition or ritual?
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  9. When can you set aside time to perform the tradition or ritual you selected?
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