stigma
Mental health has been stigmatized and cast into the shadows. In these dark places, it is hard for people to acknowledge painful thoughts or emotions, or feel comfortable seeking help. There is an added level of shame to the struggle.
what if...
What if mental health could be viewed like physical health? What if we could take mental health out of the shadows and into the light?
change
The media has power to affect our collective conscience and bring mental health into the light. When we hear others’ stories of going to therapy, struggling with depression, and learning how to live a better life, the stigma starts to erode.
David Harbour, Actor
David Harbour speaks candidly with NPR about his bipolar, and offers advice to those who may have been recently diagnosed by presenting a refreshing take on mental health conditions:
“…if you're a kid and you like, you know, live in Oklahoma and you're 10 years old and you just got diagnosed with OCD or ADHD or, you know, bipolar, I want you to know that you can be a powerful, strong, successful - even a strong cultural voice in this world with this label attached to you. It doesn't define you, and it's certainly not a death sentence. If anything, like, the neuro-atypicality, I think, propels you to being a greater free thinker and more equipped for creativity in certain ways. And I would encourage all those people to not feel outcasted and to act out in bad - in ways that can be gnarly but to actually embrace their artistic sides and to realize that their outcastness and their differentness is also linked to their specialness. They are intertwined in a beautiful way.”
For the full interview, with even more thoughtful insights about mental health, please have a listen.
Lady Gaga, singer
Lady Gaga talks to Oprah about her struggles with mental health and chronic pain, and her views on the effectiveness of medication and therapy.
Neal Brennan, Comedian
During his comedy special, 3 Mics, Neal Brennan shares jokes and his experience with depression:
"Depression to me has always felt like a virus that attacks your brain with negative thoughts. The medication staved off some of the thoughts, but a lot of them would break through and would leave a void in their wake. Like, to say I have low self-esteem is not true. I have no self-esteem. I don’t have the architecture for good feelings. You could give me a trophy, it will slide right down. I just don’t have the shelving. In fact, I used to have to carry around an index card of funny things I’d written or said or directed just to try to remind myself that I was okay. Depression feels like you’re wearing a weighted vest. I always felt like I was at a disadvantage mood- or energy-wise to my peers. It was never life-threatening, it was just life-dampening. And the medication could take weights out of the vest, but I still came across as either bored or cold or superior, none of which I wanted to come across as.
...So, I think people with depression have the reputation for feeling sorry for themselves or they fell into a bad mood and were too lazy to get out of it. But, believe me, I’m not lazy, nor did I approach this lazily. Like, I went to a psychiatrist and a psychologist. If you don’t know the difference, congrats for having a great life. I became a vegan to feel better. I quit smoking to feel better. Every exercise plan there is, I tried to feel better. Meditation. I went on a seven-day silent meditation retreat. Medication. I’ve tried every medication they have and they all have side effects.
...The depression’s still with me, but not nearly as bad as it was. I ended up doing 45 half-hour sessions of TMS, which is a lot. And the reason I itemize it is because when you have any kind of mood disorder, it’s not provable to people. All I have to show you is my work. I had 45 half-hour sessions. It’s really aggravating when you have a mood thing. You can feel people’s suspicion. Imagine if you had a cold, and people were, like, “He doesn’t really have that cold. That stuffiness is a choice.” It’s really frustrating. It speaks to people’s ignorance about depression.”
Rob Delaney, Actor
Andrew Solomon, Writer
The Moth presents Andrew Solomon, Notes on an Exorcism. Solomon shares his experience exploring a tribal cure for his depression in Senegal. While therapy is often an essential part of healing, Solomon expands our traditional view of mental health treatment by revealing a world in which mental health is a community affair, without the shame of stigma.
Hannah Gadsby, Comedian
In her comedy special, Nanette, Hannah Gadsby explores healing from painful experiences:
"What I don’t have a right to do is spread anger because anger, much like laughter, can connect a room of strangers like nothing else. But anger, even if it is connected to laughter, will not relieve tension because anger is a tension. It is a toxic, infectious tension and it knows no other purpose than to spread blind hatred and I want no part of it- because I take my freedom of speech as a responsibility and just because I can position myself as a victim, does not make my anger constructive. It never is constructive. Laughter does not hold medicine, stories hold our cure. Laughter is just the honey that sweetens the bitter medicine."
Kevin Love, Basketball Player
Kevin describes his struggle with anxiety and his decision to share his story:
"People reaching out for help or talking to someone...it does really work. And for so long I put that off thinking I didn’t need it because that was my playbook when I was young, to suppress it and be a man. I think that masculinity thing is misleading in a lot of ways because when that is engrained in your mind at an early age, you feel that way throughout. I wish I would have had the presence of mind early on to face these things but I think everyone has their “Aha” moment where they are able to come forward with these types of things."
Jay-z, musician
During an interview with the NYTimes, Jay-Z shares his experience with therapy:
"I grew so much from the experience. But I think the most important thing I got is that everything is connected. Every emotion is connected and it comes from somewhere. And just being aware of it. Being aware of it in everyday life puts you at such a ... you're at such an advantage. You know, you realize that if someone's racist toward you, it ain't about you. It's about their upbringing and what happened to them, and how that led them to this point. You know, most bullies bully. It just happens. 'Oh, you got bullied as a kid so you trying to bully me. I understand.'
And once I understand that, instead of reacting to that with anger, I can provide a softer landing and maybe, 'Aw, man, is you O.K.?' I was just saying there was a lot of fights in our neighborhood that started with 'What you looking at? Why you looking at me? You looking at me?' And then you realize: 'Oh, you think I see you. You’re in this space where you’re hurting, and you think I see you, so you don’t want me to look at you. And you don’t want me to see you. You don't want me to see your pain. You don't ... So you put on this shell of this tough person that's really willing to fight me and possibly kill me 'cause I looked at you.'
You know what I'm saying, like, so ... Knowing that and understanding that changes life completely."