Image from Dr Nadine Muller.
The National Institute of Mental Health reports that an “estimated 26.2 percent of Americans ages 18 and older—about one in four adults—suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year.” Depression is one of the most common mental illnesses, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that “by the year 2020, depression will be the second leading cause of disability throughout the world, trailing only ischemic heart disease.” Even without considering mental illness, the CDC say it is “estimated that only about 17% of the U.S. adults are considered to be in a state of optimal mental health.”
With mental illness so common, it seems surprising that “[t]hree out of four people with a mental illness report that they have experienced stigma,” which is “a mark of disgrace that sets a person apart.” The United Kingdom’s Mental Health Foundation states that media reports “often link mental illness with violence, or portray people with mental health problems as dangerous, criminal, evil, or very disabled and unable to live normal, fulfilled lives.” In my own life, I’ve heard people imply that mental illnesses are not real health issues, that people who claim to have depression or anxiety are just looking for attention and should snap out of it. I’ve also seen people romanticize certain mental illnesses, which is problematic because “positive” stereotyping is just as harmful and inaccurate as its more overtly negative counterpart. (For more on this topic, see Kathleen Norton’s op-ed here.)
What is Active Minds?
Image from Facebook.
Active Minds was founded in the early 2000s by Alison Malmon, a University of Pennsylvania junior who decided to fight against the stigmas and misconceptions surrounding mental illness after her older brother committed suicide in 2000. It was incorporated as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization in 2003, and today it supports 454 chapters on college campuses across the world (including my own, which I didn’t know until I started doing research for this article).
Active Minds describes itself as “the nation’s only nonprofit organization dedicated to utilizing the student voice to raise mental health awareness among college students,” and it does this by developing and supporting “student-run chapters on college and university campuses that promote a dialogue around issues of mental health.” On a logistical level, this means meeting “weekly or biweekly to plan events on…campus that raise awareness about issues of mental health and available resources.” Membership is not limited to students with mental illnesses, and Active Minds chapters often sponsor events like “Mental Health Awareness Week campaigns, panel discussions, movie screenings, Stomp out Stigma runs, flyering campus, and stress-relief activities during final exams.” They emphasize that their mission is “to raise awareness, educate, and de-stigmatize help-seeking,” and that their chapters “may not be support groups and do not provide mental health services of any kind.”
Image from Stefanie Pop Art.
Ways to Get Involved
The simplest way to raise awareness for Active Minds’ efforts is to sign up for their email newsletter and interact with them on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, and YouTube. If you have some extra money to spend, you can make a direct donation (online or by mail) or purchase merchandise from their online store.
Another way to get involved is by joining the campus chapter at your college, or starting your own if your school doesn’t have one. (The Active Minds website has information and resources for students looking to do this.) Student chapters can then participate in awareness campaigns like National Day Without Stigma, Stress Less Week, and Eating Disorders Week. You can also contact Active Minds individually to be put on their volunteer list.
For college students interested in behavioral health research, Active Minds sponsors an Emerging Scholars Fellowship program, which “provides an opportunity for students to complete funded, independent mental health projects and to be connected with a network of young scholars and national experts in the field of behavioral health.”
Sources
Active Minds. Non-Profit Soapbox, 2014. Web. 14 Jul. 2014.
“Mental Health Basics.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4 Oct. 2013. Web. 14 Jul. 2014.
“The Numbers Count: Mental Disorders in America.” National Institute of Mental Health. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2014. Web. 14 Jul. 2014.
“Stigma and Discrimination.” Mental Health Foundation. Mental Health Foundation, n.d. Web. 14 Jul. 2014.
“What is stigma?” Government of Western Australia Mental Health Commission. Government of Western Australia, 2010. Web. 14 Jul. 2014.