On October 6, 2008, the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre (<- you gotta love those Canadians!), with the support of Manulife Financial, launched Let’s Face This – Confront the Stigma of Mental Illness. As the name suggests, Let’s Face This is a grassroots, web-based campaign to bust stigma and promote public awareness and education about mental health. And – as the name suggests – the campaign really does want you to face this.
When you visit Let’s Face This, you can add your picture to a growing tree of people who – like you – want to help promote public awareness and …read more

Today was the last day for the “Top 5 Ways To Be A Mental Health Advocate” series here at Mental Health Notes.
And, if you missed it, you don’t have to scroll through the site trying to find each post – I’ve rounded them all up for you right here!
Number One: Stop Yourself And Others From Promoting Mental Health Stigma. People with any kind of illness – mental illness included – are up against a lot. Refraining from using stigmatizing words and committing actions that contribute to stigma is a great way to be a mental health advocate!
Number Two: Get Involved …read more

The “Top 5 Ways To Be A Mental Health Advocate” series here at Mental Health Notes comes to an end today, and so far you’ve read about stopping mental health stigma, getting involved with mental health advocacy and research organizations as well as mental health support groups, and ways to educate yourself and others about mental health.
To wrap up, let’s muse on mental health politics, i.e. mental health legislation that deals with issues like postpartum depression, substance and alcohol abuse, and of course – MENTAL HEALTH PARITY!
Number Five: Become a mental health advocate when you get involved with mental health …read more

Until this point in the “Top 5 Ways To Be A Mental Health Advocate” series here at Mental Health Notes, I’ve given you reasons to stop promoting stigma, a list of large mental health advocacy and research organizations with which you can get involved, and advice on how to get started with mental health support groups.
Today, I want to tell you how important it is to educate yourself and others about mental health. It’s more unlikely that you or anyone else will stigmatize mental illness once you understand it, after all.
Number Four: Become a mental health advocate when you educate …read more