Thank you for sharing something so personal — but equally, thank you for fighting to remove the silent stigma attached to honest discussion of mental health. We’ve made progress raising our awareness of our own cultural biases and the harm they cause when it comes to gender, race, sexuality, and physical disabilities. Yet still mental health is avoided as a topic to such a degree that few people understand at all until they themselves or a loved one are affected—and even then, they keep silent.

No one changes their opinions just based on abstract ideas. The real (and in maybe some ways only) tool to promote understanding and support is personal narrative and human connection.

Just in the US, most estimates suggest one one in five deal with mental health issues, and about one in twenty have issues that severely impact family or work. Also, we need to remember depression and suicide are just two common issues out of many, and people with dozens of other conditions are equally in need of help and understanding.

When it comes to mental health, it’s not talking about it that’s madness.

Thank you, Winnie.