During #WorldMentalHealthDay, APB Speakers Have Stories to Share

10 Oct 2016

Mental health is an important part of wellness. In the past, many people overlooked mental health and this led to high rates of depression, anxiety and other mental illnesses. In fact, according to the National Alliance of Mental Health, one in five adults currently suffer from mental illness.

Stigma often surrounds mental health, but celebrities such as APB speaker Brian Cuban are trying to change that. In his bestselling book Shattered Image: My Triumph Over Body Dysmorphic Disorder, Cuban talks about a much ignored problem when he shares about male eating disorders and addiction. He emphasizes that recovery is always an option and hopes others glean that, “Your lowest moment in life can be your best if you survive it and learn from it” from his speeches.

Even well-known figures such as Patrick Kennedy suffer from mental illness. However, Kennedy uses his political platform and voice to fight the stigma. No longer does he want people to feel how writer Kathy Cronkite felt when she admitted, “I was ashamed.  It was a confession of weakness.  For years, depression meant the crazy house.”

When “I” is replaced with “we,” even illness becomes wellness. During #WorldMentalHealthDay and beyond, take the next steps in your communities’ wellness by learning from our mental health speakers. Mental health is often an invisible disease. It’s time to show those in our lives that they aren’t alone and voices of change are here to help.