Mental illness has become one of the most talked about subjects in this day and age; so much that many people have been advocating to end the stigma that the mentally ill have been facing for centuries.

1 in 5 Americans are affected by a mental illness and the stigma against them makes it much harder for them to seek help. Stigma is when someone views another person in a negative light because they have a mental illness or a disability of some sort. This is not good when it comes to mental illnesses because it can potentially mean they will not get the proper treatment.

Here's a scenario: you start coughing and sneezing. You go to the school nurse's office and they take your temperature, noticing that you have a 102-degree fever. They send you home from school and your mom gives you medicine and makes sure you eat properly and drink lots of fluids until you get better. This sounds like the typical scenario that everyone goes through whenever they have a physical illness, right?

Now imagine that scenario again, but this time with a mental illness. If anyone attempted to go to their school nurse saying that they have depression, they would be kicked right out of the office and sent back to class. This right here is the problem when it comes to giving treatment. This often happens because since it's not easily visible, many people would think that they are "faking" their mental illnesses just to either get attention or to stay home from school. In all reality, this is not the case when it comes to mental illness.

Living with a mental illness is already tough enough as is, and adding the stigma surrounding it in the mix can create even more challenges when it comes to reaching out, getting any needed support, and living a normal life. The effects of stigma against mental illness include, but are not limited to:

Facing rejection, bullying, and discrimination (which can make recovery a lot more difficult)

Disability (since mental illness is the leading cause of disability in the United States)

Lack of services and treatment to get the help needed (less than half of the adults in the United States get those services)

An 8-10 year delay (on average) between the onset of symptoms and intervention

Suicide (the second leading cause of death for people between 15 and 24 in the United States and the tenth leading cause of death for all Americans)

Stigma is toxic to other's mental health because it can create an environment of shame, fear, and silence that can prevent many people from seeking help and treatment, and other people's perception of mental illness as "attention-seeking" can make this stigma worse. The perception of mental illness will not change unless we act now to change it.

For more information, visit the National Alliance on Mental Health website at www.nami.org