Just a reminder that this week is National Mental Illness Awareness Week in the U.S.
The week was established by Congress to promote awareness of the millions of Americans who have a severe mental illness.
What are you doing to observe the week? Spread the word by posting on your blog, updating your Facebook status with a reminder, or tweeting your support for those with mental illness.
Anorther point of view on this
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dj-jaffe/mental-illness-awareness_b_309422.html
I have to say that I totally don’t get this article DJ. Many people do think that serious mental illness is a “mark of shame or discredit.” I mean, have you seen some of the comments on my blog posts about people with BPD (and yes, BPD is included under the “serious mental illness” umbrella). And I don’t understand or buy the idea that somehow MIAW “takes away” from people with serious mental illness and puts a focus on the “worried-well.”
And what evidence do you have that anti-stigma campaigns try to convince people that the mentally ill are “just like you and me”? A great deal of your article centers on this idea, but I think it’s a straw-man argument- I don’t know anyone who is trying to convince people of that. They are trying to convince people that those with mental illness are human, and deserving of respect.