Last week, as I watched TV one evening, I saw a commercial that addressed the stigma of mental illness. It blew me away with its effectiveness:
I got up right then and went to my computer to look up “Bring Change 2 Mind.” I found a website for the nonprofit co-founded by actress Glenn Close.
Its mission is the following:
“To emerge as the world's most effective organization working to eradicate the stigma and discrimination surrounding mental illness through widely distributed Public Education Materials based on the latest scientific insights and measured for effectiveness.
To act as a portal to a broad coalition of organizations that provide service, screening, information, support and treatment of mental illness.”
Its partner organizations include Mental Health American, the National Alliance on Mental Illness and the National Institute of Mental Health.
On the website, you can find facts about mental illnesses and and resources for finding out more.
There’s also a space for sharing your story about mental illness and reading the stories of others.
The website includes helpful videos, including an interview with Close about why she became a mental health advocate. Her sister has bipolar disorder, and a nephew has been diagnosed with schizophrenia.
While on the website, I chose to take the pledge to work to erase the stigma of mental illness. The pledge reads in part:
“For people living with mental illness:
*I am living with a mental illness that is treatable and manageable.
*I am a valuable and valued person and I deserve to be treated with respect.
*I am responsible for the decisions and choices I make in my life.
*Educating myself about the symptoms of my illness, and any side effects I may have from treatment, will help me find and use the resources I need to work toward stability.
*Communicating about my experiences with others will help them support me in difficult times and keep me “on track.”
*If I am feeling suicidal, it is critical that I reach out for help, for in the face of real pain and suffering, it is others who can help me with a commitment to live.
*I can reduce stigma in myself and in others by being open about living with mental illness, naming it out loud, and raising people’s awareness.”
I'm glad to see an organization dedicated to something as important as this. The stigma of mental illness causes a lot of pain. I realize that I must do my part to fight it.
I'm glad to see an organization dedicated to something as important as this. The stigma of mental illness causes a lot of pain. I realize that I must do my part to fight it.
I encourage you to check out the website. And please come back here and comment about what you found.
Wow - what a great commercial. I actually almost cried after watching it. Very moving and effective. Thank you for sharing this.
ReplyDeleteSunny, I got teary watching it too. Part of what it symbolizes to me is the support that people with mental illnesses need.
DeleteAh yes, I think that may be it. Showing people walking with a loved one by their side was powerful.
DeleteI also really, really loved it at the end when their shirts changed to normal shirts so it just looked like a crowd of people walking around in every day life. I may just have to re-post this one myself!
I was already familiar with Bring Change 2 Mind, but had not seen the commercial. I think they are doing a great job so far, and with Glenn Close on board, that will really help visibility. Thanks for posting that commercial........I think it is really powerful.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Janet. I agree with someone like Glenn Close can help raise visibility.
DeleteWonderful website Tina! And I loved the commercial. I shared the website on my Facebook page, hoping it will reach more people.
ReplyDeleteI am so pleased I found your website as well, as I told my psychologist this morning. Your approach is different from the support group we have here, you make us focus on one specific new thing every time again. It's very stimulating, and uplifting at the same time. Thank you for all your effort!
Klaaske, Thank you so much for your kind words--you made my day!
DeleteThis is a great resource, and it's sad that so many suffer in silence. I lost a loved one last summer to suicide, and none of us had any idea :-(
ReplyDeleteLisa I'm so sorry for your loss.
DeleteMy first husband was severely depressed, but managed to hide it very very well from the outside world. So no one believed me when I desperately tried to get him help, because after all, I was the "crazy one" with my OCD and bipolar disorder. Until it was too late and he took his life at only 37 years old.
Just shows you how no one takes you seriously anymore after you have been diagnosed with a mental illness, not even the professionals that are supposed to help.
Lisa, I'm very sorry about your loved one. Suicide can be so shocking to those left behind. My cousin's husband took his life years ago, and it really hit the family hard.
DeleteKlaaske, I'm so sorry about your husband. I can't imagine the pain that must have caused you. I wonder if those of us diagnosed with a mental illness are taken less seriously by some people.
DeleteTina, I think there are a lot of people that do not take us seriously. But it also depends where you live and what the community is like. I lived in Africa at the time my husband passed away and there the people did rather believe I was demon possessed than just mentally ill. And that wasn't in some backward village either.
ReplyDeleteThere still is a LOT of misunderstanding about mental illnesses in this world.
Great commercial! I love the pledge!
ReplyDeleteElizabeth, I did, too. I liked the way it was worded and what it asks us to do.
DeleteI don't know what made me tear up more, the message or the comments that people are sharing on this page. It saddens me that there is still so much stigma, especially when depression rates have skyrocketed. Glenn Close is doing great work; it's great to see a celebrity using her fame for good. She also promotes Puppies Behind Bars, which has prison inmates train dogs that are then given to soldiers with PTSD. She's a fine, generous woman.
ReplyDeleteNadine, Puppies Behind Bars sounds like another wonderful cause to support. Close impressed me in the videotaped interview that is on the website. Thank you for your comment!
DeleteWonderful post...love that commercial! I truly do feel "invisible" myself at times. If people don't see a bandage, they assume you're not hurting.
ReplyDeleteAh, yes, I know what it's like to feel invisible. We have no visible wounds to show others.
DeleteP O W E R F U L.
ReplyDeletePowerful.
The video is simply and utterly surperb & effective.
Thank you, Tina.
btw, I believe "mental illness" is the most secretive disease in America.