"...the fact is that many people in this country are fighting to put one foot in front of the other just to make it through the day. And often they don’t ask for help because they’re worried about how it will look. At the root of this dilemma is the way we view mental health in this country. When it comes to mental health conditions, we often treat them differently from other diseases like cancer, diabetes or asthma. And that makes no sense. Whether an illness affects your heart, your leg or your brain, it’s still an illness, and there should be no distinction. I mean, just imagine if we treated breast cancer the way we treat mental health. Imagine if, instead of admiring cancer patients for their courage as they fight this disease, we feared them or were embarrassed by them. Imagine if we told folks with heart disease that they should just buck up and get it together.
So it is really time to flip the script on mental health in this country. It’s time. It’s time to tell everyone who’s dealing with a mental health issue that they’re not alone, and that getting support and treatment isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength.