One in four adults aged 18 and older suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year. This year, nearly 2 million Michigan residents will be affected by a mental disorder; this is the equivalent of the entire population of Detroit and Lansing times two.
The Michigan Association of Community Mental Health Boards encourages everyone to band together to promote awareness of mental health and developmental disability issues and combat stigma.
We invite you to join us at our fourth annual "Walk a Mile in My Shoes" rally on Wednesday on the front lawn of the Michigan Capitol from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Together with more than 1,500 advocates from each of Michigan's 83 counties, lawmakers, and mental health and developmental disability workers, we can all make a difference -- both at the rally and in our own communities.
The numbers are clear. Mental illnesses do not discriminate -- they affect the young, the old, men and women of all ethnicities and races. Just as mental illnesses and developmental disabilities do not discriminate, neither should we discriminate, judge and stigmatize those who are affected.
Stigma stems from labeling, stereotyping, creating divisions and discriminating against those with mental disorders. This can affect a person with a disorder from getting treatment due to fear of being alienated. The first steps in battling stigma are to know the facts and to create awareness of them. Mental illness is like many physical illnesses. It affects the brain and therefore does not differ from strokes, epilepsy and multiple sclerosis.
In Congress, the debate on whether mental illnesses, like depression and schizophrenia, should get the same insurance coverage as other physical illnesses (like diabetes and cancer) took a step toward a consensus in March.
The U.S. House passed a bill that would require insurance companies to provide mental health insurance parity, bringing the 15-year debate in Congress and many statehouses to light. Stigma does not belong in our communities, our state and federal legislatures or anywhere.
There are many ways to get involved in the fight against stigma.
Parents can educate their children early on about mental illnesses. Everyone can work on educating family and friends on what a mental illness is and how it does not differ from other illnesses.
A study conducted by Patrick W. Corrigan, professor of psychology at Northwestern University, and assistant professor of psychology Amy C. Watson suggests that calling mental illness a brain disease can alter perception as well.
Aside from educating others around you, the Association of Community Mental Health Boards challenges you to take an even more proactive role in battling stigma. Don't let another day go by where more than 2 million people are feeling alone in the world due to stigma.
About the author: Dave LaLumia is executive director of the Michigan Association of Community Mental Health Boards.
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