October 4 through October 10 is Mental Illness Awareness Week.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness and NAMI Vermont are calling on everyone to learn the symptoms of mental illness conditions such as depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia and to “go stigma free.”
One in five adults experience mental illness problems every year, but 50 percent of chronic mental illness begins by age 14, and three-quarters by age 24. Although many people today understand that mental illness is a medical condition, individuals and families affected by mental illness are still often subjected to stigma and discrimination.
Embrace the theme for this year’s 25th Anniversary Mental Illness Awareness Week by proclaiming #IAmStigmaFree. Use the hashtag and visit NAMI.org to take the #IAmStigmaFree pledge.
This is the time to free everyone from stereotypes and that too often discourage people from getting help when they need it. Help rid mental illness from discrimination in society!
