Do you ever read a statistic that shocks you and makes you want to change something? Recently I heard a statistic about something a lot of Americans feel uncomfortable discussing but I refuse to remain silent on this matter. That topic would be Mental Illness (diagnosed and not). The fact of the matter is that Mental Disorders are far more common than most people are aware. One idea is that a mental disorder means a less quality life for all who have it, although the name suggests a crippling disability, there are many people with a mental disorder that are perfectly capable of leading long and happy lives. I will be touching on these topics more in depth as the article continues because I believe this is something worthy of our attention.

According to the John Hopkins Medicine resource page on mental disorders 26% of people in America over the age of 18 are estimated to have a mental disorder. In case that doesn't bring into light just how common mental health issues are, 26% of America over the age of 18 equals to every 1 in 4 legal adults estimated to have a mental disorder. Mental illness is more apparent that the most common disorders including but not limited to cancer, heart disease, and diabetes (says the dosomething.org campaign).

These stats should startle most who see them, but what do we do with this information? Well, for one, we can start by talking about this matter more often in order to learn and become accustom to it. Since mental illness is obviously so prevalent, being open about mental illness will be a critical step in addressing it as a topic that can be openly discussed. I recently had a conversation with someone whose name I will not mention but we were discussing depression in college students. In our talk, it came out that my friend was working up the courage to tell their parents that they had been struggling with a major wave of depression. Due to an extreme lack of education in the field of mental illness, the topic has become a taboo despite its widespread effects. The Millennial Generation is one that is uniquely situated to eliminate the stigmas attached to mental illness. Something we can all do to help raise awareness for mental health issues is to get involved in a program that raises awareness.