I've been reading articles, and tweets about the memories people have with Kate Spade purses, accessories, and her general brand. I don't think I've ever owned more than a Kate Spade phone case but I felt so chic and could tackle the world. Yet that's not how Kate Spade felt. There is something wrong with our health system when a woman kills herself instead of seeking treatment. Kate Spade didn't want to get treatment for her depression and bipolar because it would hurt her brand.
When it only hurt her in the end.
This isn't the first time something like this has happened. That is the part I am so sad about. I am so sad that she didn't seek treatment because she thought it would hurt her brand. As if she thought that it wouldn't empower people who might have looked up to her as a businesswoman. Kate Spade was a glamorous person, a businesswoman and a woman who was mentally ill. She was only human.
We have lost so many people to suicide and we didn't know they were even fighting the same demons we are fighting, too. What does this say about our health system? Trump in February cut $665 million dollars from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration.
As someone who has a mental illness, I found this terrifying.
We need that money. We need that money to keep the mothers and fathers of children in their lives. We need that money to help children and have therapy in reach for people who might not have insurance. We need that money to help the mentally ill. Mental illness is just as serious as a physical illness, it's just as crippling. People with mental illness matter too even if you can't see that they're sick.
They have dreams to make come true.
They have families to build.
They have school to finish.
They have memories to make with their friends.
Their story isn't over yet.
