I created my first-ever, original book tag—the Mental Health Book Tag—because, after researching Mental Illness in Young Adult Books, I was interested in how BookTubers were using these book tag videos to talk about mental health.

Unfortunately, I was disappointed with the tags I found. For instance, the Asylum Book Tag, which includes the following questions:

1. A book couple that drove you nuts?
2. You’re going off the rails fast: name a book series that will pull you out of the dark place?
3. Name a book that messed with your head and left you shaking?
4. You are going into solitary confinement for one year and you can only bring one book series. What would it be?
5. BREAK OUT! Name one character that would help you escape the asylum?
6. You are stuck in an asylum: name one character you would chose as a cellmate?
7. Name a character that you would be terrified to be locked up with?

Especially after reading Molly McCully Brown’s The Virginia State Colony for Epileptics and Feebleminded: Poems, which I gave a 3 star rating on Goodreads and discussed in my Winter Wrap Up & Spring TBR, I found this tag to trivialize mental health and downplay the trauma that people went through in these institutions.

Because of this book tag and others that I found problematic regarding mental illness, I wanted to create a positive book tag surrounding—not only mental illness—but mental health in general, so I came up with the Mental Health Book Tag:

1. What’s a book or series that features a strong support system?
2. What’s a book, series, or genre that you turn to when you need to take care of yourself? What’s something that you do—other than reading—to take care of your mental health?
3. What’s a book that features a character that is relatable to your mental health or illness?
4. What’s a book that depicts a bad representation of a mental difference or mental illness?
5. What’s a book that depicts a good representation of a mental difference or mental illness?
6. What’s your favorite book that features mental difference or mental illness?
7. What’s your least book that features mental difference or mental illness?
8. What’s a book that takes you to your happy place? When you are dealing with mental health struggles, what is your happy place?
9. What’s your favorite quote from a book that features mental difference or mental illness? What’s something you want other people to know about mental difference or mental illness?

Tag, you’re it! I hope you complete this Mental Health Book Tag to help continue a public conversation about mental illness—or answer the questions in the comments below!