The establishment of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention along with a number of suicide prevention groups aim to support individuals suffering with mental illnesses and lower suicide rates. They provide statistics on suicide and ways to take action in order to prevent the numbers from going up. However, we need these support systems within our communities.

Mental illnesses continue to be a taboo topic in society. According to Psych Central, they have long been considered as something to be ashamed of. We are afraid that people will treat it as irrelevant or trivial in comparison to other issues we are facing in the world. With suicide being the 10th leading cause of death in the United States, clearly it has considerable importance.

This past school year, a senior at my high school, who was a week away from graduating, committed suicide. There has been minimal discussion on this topic among people in the community who didn’t know her very well. Despite not knowing her well, it's clearly an important matter that is taking the lives of around 117 people each day, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

In order to reduce stigma surrounding mental illnesses, we need to educate ourselves about mental illnesses. We need to know the warning signs then reach out to people in our communities and support each other.

Every single person has mental health, and every single person suffers from a mental illness at some point, even if it's minor. So why is it considered shameful or insignificant? Having conversations about it makes us feel accepted and more open to speaking up when we are hurting. And if we speak up, we can end the stigma and prevent suicide.