Mental health concerns can have devastating repercussions for individuals, their families and the surrounding community. When left untreated, mental health conditions may lead to poor work performance, difficulty maintaining relationships or in extreme cases even suicide.

As more people open up about their mental illness experiences, the stigma is dissipating. Here are several reasons why discussing mental health matters more than ever.

Reduced Stigma

Stigma can be an impediment to mental health care services, leading to lack of support in relationships and friendships, difficulty finding employment or housing and reduced participation in community activities. Furthermore, stigma has the ability to impede treatment maintenance efforts as well as increase self-destructive behaviors like substance abuse and suicide.

Effective stigma-reducer campaigns leverage personal stories, accurate information and inclusive language to dismantle stereotypes and encourage open discussions of mental health issues. Furthermore, such campaigns demonstrate that everyone needs assistance at some point, making therapy as normal a treatment as taking medication for physical illnesses.

Community events and peer-led programs such as Living Libraries are an effective way of breaking stigma against mental health conditions, offering emotional support. Furthermore, videos showcasing inspiring personal accounts from common psychiatric conditions provide further education about them as they promote awareness that mental health struggles do not indicate weakness and can be managed effectively with assistance.

It’s a Public Health Issue

Society stigma and lack of access to mental health care are major obstacles for those struggling with mental health conditions to seek help, delaying treatment. People may fear judgment from friends, family or colleagues; or fear how it will interfere with work performance or other aspects of their lives. They may also fear seeking assistance will negatively impact life insurance or health coverage plans.

Un encouraging trend is the growing openness about mental health struggles and advocacy for change among individuals, due in large part to media and social media platforms that facilitate these discussions – films like 13 Reasons Why, Silver Linings Playbook and To The Bone are some examples that have contributed to increasing awareness and sparking conversations; Dorothy Lowenstein ’21 is doing her part by creating clothing dedicated to destigmatizing mental health issues.

As a society, we need to recognize mental illness as a public health issue, just like we view chronic medical conditions such as heart disease or diabetes. It’s crucial that we recognize mental illnesses can be treated and recovery is possible.

It’s a Personal Struggle

No matter whether it is you living with mental health struggles yourself or knowing someone who does, discussing these matters can help make you feel less isolated. People suffering from anxiety, depression or suicidal feelings often feel alone but there are others out there with similar experiences who can sympathize and provide assistance. By sharing personal accounts about mental illnesses people become more comfortable sharing their own struggles as others may benefit from hearing others stories and hearing how people managed their own.

Personal connections to mental health issues can make people more open to prioritizing their own well-being. You don’t have to discuss all your own struggles with everyone, just mentioning how you take time for self-care and therapy can encourage those around you to do the same.

Ruby Wax asserts that diseases of the body tend to receive sympathy, while diseases affecting the brain don’t receive equal consideration. By sharing her personal experiences and encouraging others to share them as well, she hopes we can begin changing this.

It’s a Social Issue

People suffering from mental health issues are often stigmatized due to the taboo associated with mental illness. Feelings of loneliness compound symptoms. Discussing mental health matters openly is crucial so others can understand that such illnesses are both treatable and common.

Even without sharing personal experiences, just talking about having friends or family who suffer from mental illnesses can help. By normalizing such conversations and decreasing stigmatization, this conversation could make an important impactful step toward recovery.

Mental health should also be discussed openly because this allows others to provide better support to loved ones who may be struggling. When someone suffers from mental illness, seeking help can often be hard due to stigmatized attitudes toward mental disorders and diseases.

Lacking access to care can have serious repercussions for individuals’ abilities to work, care for themselves and stay in school or achieve career goals. We must raise our voices about this issue so as to foster communities where people feel supported in seeking treatment when necessary.

It’s a Community Issue

Though efforts to de-stigmatize mental health issues continue, stigma remains an obstacle for many individuals, leading them to put off seeking help or lacking community support. We need as a society to acknowledge that mental disorders are just like any medical condition and treatable.

As one example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, stress levels rose across many communities due to uncertainty regarding personal safety, job security, health concerns and wellbeing for loved ones, especially marginalized groups disproportionately impacted. This resulted in higher rates of mental health disorders.

Talking openly and actively about mental health can help break down stigmatized attitudes by raising awareness and building supportive communities. You can contribute by spreading the word, sharing resources, encouraging others to prioritize their mental wellbeing and participating in local or virtual events dedicated to mental wellbeing. Furthermore, becoming educated on different forms of mental illness so you can identify any concerns when someone expresses worry or exhibits signs of depression or anxiety within your social circle.