I thought it was about time that I discuss something that I am pretty passionate about: mental health. Now, I don’t know if this passion has stemmed from my own empathetic nature, or from being raised by a psychiatrist, but either way, I have some things that just need to be said. Let’s get the statistics out of the way. Simply put: one in five Americans suffers from a mental illness. That’s about 18.2 percent. Just to put it into perspective, I’m going to compare this to what most people would consider a “common” disease. Diabetes (of either type) affects 9.3 percent of the American population. With these percentages in mind, I raise some basic questions: Why does one seem more “okay” than the other to have? To discuss? To get treatment for?

One more question for you: why is this so?

There’s a six-letter word that’s just itching to be introduced by this point. Stigma. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines it as “a mark of shame or discredit.” For some reason unbeknownst to me, it is shameful to have a mental illness. As if you had a choice.

It is actually super common for a parent to seek psychiatric help for their child but not go through with it because of the medication. Heaven forbid they be labeled as someone who “has to take a psychotropic medication.” And even if people do get the medication they need, they are often too ashamed to take it due to the comments from ignorant bystanders. Now, referring back to our comparison, there are very few people who would refuse to take their insulin because they are afraid of what others would think. Many diabetics actually take care of business in public without any question. So, what’s the difference? Both medications are life-changing and life-saving. Both are necessary for the individual to thrive. Both deserve no stigma attached to them.

Another common misconception is that mental illness has a “look.” I’ve seen many people be told that they “couldn’t possibly be depressed” because they “didn’t look depressed.” This, of course, applies to many other illnesses. The thing about mental illness is that is it mental. Hard to grasp, huh? Just because someone looks strong on the outside doesn’t mean that they aren’t fighting a battle with themselves. Why make it any harder for them? Society is already doing a pretty good job of that.

If there is one thing that really grinds my gears, it’s when people belittle how serious mental health issues are. The classic response to “I have depression” is “cheer up, smile more, be happy, it’ll get better!” Someone says they have anxiety and get “just calm down, take a deep breath!” You don’t think that thought hasn’t already crossed their minds? You think they aren’t already trying their best? Would you tell someone with the flu to “smile more?” No, because that would be useless. Noticing a trend?

Right about now I hope you’re thinking

what can I do? Well, unlike any of the other questions brought up in this article, it’s easy. Be there. Listen with open ears, an open heart, and most importantly, an open mind. That person obviously trusts you enough to confide in you; give them reason to. Prove your trustworthiness by deleting hateful and derogatory words relating to mental health from your vocabulary. While you’re at it, ditch those preconceived notions. You may never know who you’ll be helping. Welcome hugs as rewards. You rock.