WHY OUR COUNTRY NEEDS TO HAVE

One in four people around the world suffers from a mental illness. Although mental health is as serious as cancer, mental health has a stigma. That stigma is harmful to the twenty-five percent of the population.

People with mental illnesses in America are at risk. They are being blamed for mass shootings which causes them to not get the help they need. To make matters worse, our culture is set up to downsize mental illnesses which is why our country needs to have a conversation on mental health.

LOGOS

• Donald Trump: Gun violence is "....a mental illness problem.... You have people that are mentally ill and they're going to come through the cracks and they're going to do things that people will not even believe are possible."
• Most violent crimes are committed by non mentally ill people.
• A study that showed that placing blame on those with mental health problems for violent crimes only furthered the stigma.

PATHOS

• With 25% of the population living with a mental illness, you most likely have a family member or friend who has it.
• What would you do if your leg hurt badly enough that you couldn't walk on it? What would you do if you had a learning disability, were fidgety most of the time, and had mood swings despite the fact that you try to control it?
• Even thought you can't see mental illnesses, that doesn't mean they aren't there.

ETHOS

• CDCP: Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in this country.
• Christine Moutier: “It’s difficult when they’re essentially invisible to us, they’re on TVs and in movies. But what someone jokes about could have been a jarring experience for someone else. It’s important to remember that.”
• Dan Reidenberg: “If we trivialize them into something else or we make that become the person’s identity, we have done everyone a disservice.”

How we react to mental health is an issue in this country that needs to be addressed. It is an issue that affects many people, is used to cover up other problems, and keeps people from speaking up. Our nation needs to have a talk about mental health.