Even being the daughter of a clinical psychologist, I admit, I do not know much about mental illness. I know bits and pieces, I can name some disorders and there have been a few suicides that I have known of, but it is not something that is always in front of me.
This here, is what I believe to be the core of the issue. Mental illness is not something that people want to talk about. It is a subject that makes people uncomfortable, so most choose just not to acknowledge.
Again, I do not know much, but what I do know, is that everyone out there is fighting their own battle. Everyone has their own story; they have a past that they are trying to not let define them, and they may be suffering in ways that you can't even imagine. In his testimonial on Bell Let's Talk's website, Michael Landsberg spoke powerfully when he said, "there's a feeling in this country still, that depression is more of a weakness, than a sickness." These words struck me. They speak of this being thought to be true
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I ask you to take to social media, whatever platform it is, and use today to get the discussion going. According to the site, "Today, Bell will donate 5¢ more to mental health initiatives for every: Text message sent, mobile & long distance call made, Tweet using #BellLetsTalk, and share of the Facebook image" (go to the site to see specifics!) It may seem that social media campaigns and things are not legitimate, or that it is not making a difference, so if you need to, do some research, explore the website, ask someone, but please; remember to be kind. Remember that you have a chance, no matter who you are, to positively affect those around you. You can be the shining light in someone's dark times, and you can be the one they chose to talk to about what silent war they're fighting. YOU can be the one to let them know; they're not