End The Stigma... Depression and Anxiety in the Wake of Another Suicide

kate spade, death, depression, suicide, anxiety, nami, celebrity, end the stigma, mental health, mental illness, disorder,

Depression is a terrible thing.

It’s indescribable.

It’s scary.

It’s consuming.

It’s random.

It’s constant.

It’s debilitating.

It’s a mental health disorder.

It affects 16 million adults in the US.

It SHOULD be talked about.

Anxiety is a son of a $%#*%.

It’s overwhelming.

It seems ridiculous at times.

It causes symptoms that seem imaginary.

It’s hard to understand if you don’t have it and harder to describe when you do.

It’s a mental health disorder.

It affects 40 million adults in the US.

And it SHOULD be talked about.

People who struggle with anxiety and depression may appear “fine”. You may never see their visible symptoms. But they may be silently struggling.

You, me, we, cannot pretend to understand what they, you, me, are going through. And we certainly cannot pretend it’s nothing. It’s very real.

It carries a stigma. And it shouldn’t.

It’s hard to diagnose.

It may or may not require treatment.

But we don’t do enough to help those who struggle. Publicly and silently.

With the unfortunate and devastating suicide of someone like Kate Spade- a billionaire successful, brilliant, influential woman- it brings more light to a very dark place. A place that needs more support and disorders that need attention.

Suicide is on the rise. Nearly 45,000 Americans age 10 (yes, 10) or older died by suicide in 2016 making it the 10th leading cause of death. More than half of cases involved a person who didn’t have a KNOWN mental health condition.

So where do we go from here?

Yes we can mourn.

But we can take action.

Talk about it. Talk to others. Know someone struggling? Talk to them. Go see them. LISTEN to them. Like, actually LISTEN. Read up on what you can do to help. Raise awareness. Share YOUR story. Let others know they are NOT alone. And ditch the stigma already.

Visit www.nami.org for more on what you can do to help, whether it’s yourself or others.

#curestigma