Gifts for Individuals with a Mental Illness

June is a busy month for gift giving with graduations, Father’s Day and weddings. If your loved one or friend has a mental health condition, it is possible to find thoughtful presents and/or prepare care packages that show your support for his or her recovery and hopefully make his or her daily life a little easier.

Items that focus on the five senses (sight, smell, sound, taste and touch) can promote mindfulness and distract gift recipients from upsetting thoughts. Consider the following:

Glitter Slime – requires only borax, glitter glue and water;

“Movie Night” in a Box – candy, popcorn, drinks, a popcorn container and movie suggestions for streaming like “Good Will Hunting” or “Silver Linings Playbook”;

Spa in a Cup – fill a Starbucks or other iced coffee cup with a coffee gift card, epsom salts, a shower pouf and essential oils; or

a Weighted blanket, which should fit the recipient’s body rather than his or her bed size and the filling of which should equal approximately 10 percent of his or her body weight. (Gravity blankets increase serotonin and melatonin while decreasing cortisol, making users feel calmer and more peaceful.)

Often individuals with mental health issues are overwhelmed, exhausted and/or in need of encouragement and self-care. These gifts can help:

52 Things I love about you – Use a deck of cards, Modge Podge or rubber cement, silver binder rings and a hole punch to create a booklet of 52 things you love about him or her;

a Painted worry stone with a thoughtful or helpful reminder;

Mental health coupons for making a batch of his or her favorite cookies and providing a judgment free venting session/zone or a therapeutic crafting session, etc.;

a Personalized Quote Journal – use a paint pen to add his or her favorite quote to the front of a blank journal. (Numerous websites demonstrate how to write in fancy fonts.);

Robb Pearlman’s I Adulted!: Stickers for Grown-Ups – a cheerful way to reward himself or herself for completing activities that currently may feel impossible, like going to the gym, taking responsibility for his or her actions and even using dental floss; or

a Self-guided journal to help manage his or her process in recovery, including Alyse Ruriani’s What Now? A Creative Workbook Journal Thing, which is based upon Dialectical behavior therapy and intended for people who hate journaling, or Knock Knock’s Self -Therapy Note Pad, which can be completed at home and brought to therapy as a reminder of what happened since his or her last appointment.

Not only are presents fun to receive, they also can be concrete reminders of your love and support for an individual who is experiencing a mental health challenge.