Mental Health America is recognizing “10 students who are addressing mental health in several ways - from creating chat bots to working with student athletes to utilizing the arts.” Click the title to check out their profiles and summaries of their work.
Each Mind Matters: California's Mental Health Movement
“Each Mind Matters is California’s Mental Health Movement. We are millions of individuals and thousands of organizations working to advance mental health. The mental health movement certainly didn’t start with us, but Each Mind Matters was created to unite all of us who share a vision of improved mental health and equality.
Every day, millions of people face stigma related to mental health because they or their loved ones are facing a challenge. Many of these people feel isolated and alone, going years before receiving any help. Our goal is to amplify the voices of all people who want to put an end to this stigma, creating a community where everyone feels comfortable reaching out for the support they deserve.”
We're All a Little "Crazy" Campaign
This U.S.- based campaign was started by sports executive Eric Kussin to “normalize society’s perception of mental health and make it part of our everyday conversation.” Not only does the campaign provide a platform for personal stories through their #SameHere movement, but it also provides a list of Stress & Trauma, Active Release & Rewiring (STARR) Practices and resources. “Improving our mental health is not a “one-size-fits-all” process, however, by providing you with a list of therapies, you can research & choose the ones that work best for you.”
#MyYoungerSelf
In response to Child Mind Institute’s #MyYoungerSelf challenge in May 2018, “actors, athletes, social influencers, businesspeople and more sent messages of hope about their experience growing up with a mental health or learning disorder.” Although their May 2018 campaign focused on prominent role models, their campaign continues today, including video responses from people everywhere!
Mosaic shines light on mental health, homelessness
In August 2018, a public mural highlighting mental illness and homelessness titled, Pieces to Peace was installed in Toledo, Ohio. Community members from all walks of life worked together over two months to create the 20-by-20-foot glass mosaic mural depicting “a homeless person with mental issues crouched in a structure with light coming through a window. Below the person is a set of eyes.” “The message of the mural is about reducing the stigma of mental health disease and homelessness. Everyone we stopped to talk to [about the project] along the way said, ‘I have an aunt, an uncle, a parent, a cousin [with mental health issues]. It’s a universal disease that we don’t talk about. [Discussion] is the goal of the mural, and we believe this visual is going to do that.” Click the title to access the entire article and photos of the mural from The Blade.
Facing homelessness | Rex Hohlbein | TEDxRainier VIDEO
In this TEDtalk, Rex Hohlbein gives some insight into the experience of being homeless. Rex is creator of Facing Homelessness, a nonprofit Seattle, Washington. The video is about 17 minutes long, but every minute is worth the watch! “‘When you live outside, it may appear that you are mingling with everyone else. But in fact you are not, you are separated out behind a giant Plexiglas divider, and the only people that you get to talk with are those who are also living non-normal lives behind the Plexiglas.’ And then it occurred to me- When we walk past someone who is suffering on the street without acknowledging them we are creating our own Plexiglas.”
Why Business Schools Should Focus on Mental Health
In 2016, the National Mental Health Innovation Center (NMHIC) and the University of Colorado’s Leeds School of Business partnered “to equip the next generation of business leaders with awareness and skills to promote workplace mental health and participate in improving access to care.” Click the title for the full article on how they are challenging Distorted Perceptions through their curriculum and how they got MBA students around the world thinking about strategies to address stigma and mental health in the workplace.
Tips for Changing Workplace Culture
“The truth is, many people living with mental health conditions are productive, reliable employees and leaders who live full and satisfying lives. But even in the most progressive workplaces, many employees keep their conditions secret. They may be afraid that being open about them will hurt their reputation, compromise work relationships, or even jeopardize their job.” Click the title for the full article from Kaiser Permanente "Reducing mental health stigma in the workplace" for more stats and tips for changing workplace culture.
Changemaker Awards: Active Minds, for Fighting Stigma on Campus
“This network of student-run groups has over 400 sites on high school and college campuses across the country that are fighting Distorted Perceptions by “promoting awareness of mental health, supporting students who are struggling, and help connecting them to counseling. They are changing the environment on campuses by welcoming students to share their suffering and seek help.’”
Filmmaker Paul Dalio mines his bipolar disorder for feature debut
“According to the 36-year-old director, who was diagnosed with the condition in his 20s, films about manic-depression, while well-meaning, too often look at the disorder from the point of view of friends and family members, rather than through the eyes of those actually living with the illness. ‘It frustrates me,” says Dalio, “when the filmmaker isn’t aware of how displaying them in this way — from the outside — might affect the way in which the public sees them. That is to say, very easily, in a negative light.’”