Message

The OpenMindsOpenDoors campaign revolves around five key messages about stigma and discrimination.

People who have mental illnesses have the same needs as everyone else.

Meaningful work, decent affordable housing, access to health care, a sufficient public education, positive relationships, and acceptance by family and peers matter to each of us.

People who have mental illnesses can and do recover and live productive lives.

Recovery means different things to different people. It can mean being able to hold down a job. It can mean going back to school. Or, it can mean working to one's capacity. Or, it can mean having a close relationship with family and friends. Whether recovery comes from drugs, from traditional therapy, from alternative treatments, or from prayer, one common theme is a feeling of responsibility for one's life and a sense of control over one's problems.

People who have mental illnesses make valuable contributions to society.

Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill experienced depression. Actress Patty Duke and musician Peter Gabriel live with manic depression. Nobel laureate John Nash lives with schizophrenia. Overcoming the stigma associated with a mental illness, seeking and getting treatment, and being part of a support network enable people living with mental illnesses to reclaim their lives and to enjoy meaningful careers.

Discrimination against people who have mental illnesses keeps them from seeking help.

Mental health is as important as physical health to the overall well-being of individuals, societies and countries. Yet only a small minority of the 450 million people living with a mental or behavioral disorder is receiving treatment.¹ While one in five Americans lives with a mental disorder in any given year, half of people with severe mental illnesses received no treatment in the past 12 months.² Fear of disclosure, rejection by friends, and ultimately discrimination are just a few reasons why people with mental illnesses don't seek help.

Discrimination against people who have mental illnesses violates their basic human rights.

Despite the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act and other civil rights laws, people with mental illnesses experience discrimination in the workplace, education, housing, healthcare, and at home. In a survey, people with mental health problems report being denied a job (39%), forced to resign from a job (34%), forced to move because of harassment (26%), and unwilling to apply for a job because of fear of discrimination (69%).³

Breaking down the stigma of mental illness can close the door on discrimination. And open it to opportunity -- the right to affordable housing, health care, equal opportunity employment, and sufficient public education. For those living with a mental illness it's a journey from shame and isolation to dignity and responsibility.

Learn more about what you can do to end stigma and stop discrimination.

1. The World Health Report 2001, "Mental Health: New Understanding, New Hope," World Health Organization, 2001.
2. America's Mental Health Survey, National Mental Health Association, 2001.
3. Jim Read and Sue Baker, "Not Just Sticks and Stones: A Survey of the Stigma, Taboos and Discrimination Experienced by People with Mental Health Problems," Mind, 1996.