This Was The Decade That Changed The Way We Think About Mental Health

This Was The Decade That Changed The Way We Think About Mental Health

via the Huffington Post by Lindsay Holmes

There’s still a long way to go before we’re a mental health-positive, stigma-free society. Many people still don’t think about mental illnesses in the same way as other illnesses, such as cancer or diabetes. There are still extreme barriers to getting treatment, like the expense and the lack of providers. People in power still blame mental health for mass shootings far too often and use derogatory mental health language when discussing opponents.

When I first started writing about mental health in 2013, the landscape was also different. There was a glaring lack of coverage about these issues across the media, or worse, news outlets would prominently cover a celebrity’s or citizen’s “erratic behavior” as something that was “bizarre” or “entertaining.” A lot of suicide reporting was insensitive, glamorizing, salacious ― or all three. 

But we also have come a long way in 10 years. More people are open to therapy now than ever before; millennials and those in Gen Z report a willingness to talk about mental health significantly more than baby boomers and Gen X folks. Slowly — perhaps too slowly — but surely, the tide is shifting.

A lot that can be attributed to both tragic and affirming events that have occurred since 2010. Below are just a few defining moments from the past decade, all of which influenced the way we talk about and view mental health today…

… keep reading the full & original article HERE