Mental Health Awareness Month Highlights Growing Search for Self-Help Resources

LOS ANGELES, May 05, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- May marks Mental Health Awareness Month, a national observance that traces its roots to 1949, when Mental Health America launched Mental Health Week to educate the public on the subject. The observance comes as Americans’ self-assessments of mental health have reached a new low, indicating the need not only for awareness, but also practical solutions to combat what many consider to be a crisis.

According to a December 2025 West Health-Gallup survey, 29% of U.S. adults consider their mental health or emotional well-being “excellent,” down from 43% before the pandemic. The downward trend continues even as mental health treatment, public engagement, and spending reach historic levels. State mental health spending reached $61.4 billion in 2024. The figures highlight a pressing need for resources to help reverse the crisis threatening current and future generations.

In response, more Americans are exploring self-help books and personal development methods. The self-help book market has grown steadily for years, and Grand View Research projects the market will grow by more than 7% annually through 2030.

One long-standing leading title in the self-help field is Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health by L. Ron Hubbard. Published on May 9, 1950, one year after the launch of Mental Health Week, Dianetics marks its 76th anniversary this May. Readers around the world continue turning to the book as a resource for self-understanding and personal improvement.

Dianetics presents a comprehensive explanation of how the mind works and the source of unwanted reactions and emotions. The book offers a step-by-step method to address the emotional charge behind past stress and traumatic experiences, helping readers understand and remove the hidden, negative influences that trigger irrational behavior.

With over 20 million copies in circulation and translations in 50 languages, Dianetics has helped individuals in more than 200 nations to understand themselves and pursue personal growth.

As Mental Health Awareness Month highlights the scale of America’s mental health challenges and the growing search for accessible tools for self-betterment, Dianetics continues to offer readers a resource for understanding the mind and remains one of the most widely read titles in the field.

Bridge Publications, Inc. publishes the nonfiction works of L. Ron Hubbard. Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health is the all-time bestselling book on the human mind. Visit www.dianetics.org.

Sara Lucatero

Bridge Publications, Inc.

sdinges@bridgepub.com

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Mental Health Month

U.S. Mental Health Ratings Reach New Low

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