Mental Health America
Mental Health America is our charity of choice because it's important to shed the light on mental health. Most people disregard it because it's "invisible". So that means it doesn't matter right? Not quite...In the United States alone, almost half of adults (46.4 percent) will experience a mental illness during their lifetime. That's about 165 million adults! In addition to that, half of all mental disorders begin by age 14 and three-quarters by age 24. Mental illnesses are an epidemic but mass media stigmatizes it.
Stigma happens when some person is viewed as an “other.” This other is denied full social acceptance. And let's keep in mind that mental illnesses goes further than just depression and anxiety. The many different types include OCD, schizophrenia, eating disorders, bipolar disorders, and so forth. Let's fight the mental health stigma together!
About MHA
Mental Health America (MHA) - founded in 1909 - is the nation’s leading community-based nonprofit dedicated to addressing the needs of those living with mental illness and promoting the overall mental health of all Americans. Their work is driven by their commitment to promote mental health as a critical part of overall wellness, including prevention services for all; early identification and intervention for those at risk; integrated care, services, and supports for those who need it; with recovery as the goal.
The B4Stage4 Philosophy
Much of their work is guided by the Before Stage 4 (B4Stage4) philosophy – that mental health conditions should be treated long before they reach the most critical points in the disease process. When we think about diseases like cancer or heart disease, we don’t wait years to treat them. We start before Stage 4—we begin with prevention, identify symptoms, and develop a plan of action to reverse and hopefully stop the progression of the disease. So why don’t we do the same for individuals who are dealing with potentially serious mental illness? Like other diseases, we need to address these symptoms early, identify the underlying disease, and plan an appropriate course of action on a path towards overall health. MHA is committed to addressing mental health Before Stage 4.
Get to know more about MHA on their website: https://www.mhanational.org/