Mental Illness Should Carry ‘No Stigma’ – Michelle Obama

By Alltimepost.com

WASHINGTON – America’s First Lady, Mrs. Michelle Obama on Wednesday at a Give an Hour conference of mental health professionals she hosted to raise awareness and drum support for people with mental illness left the public with a message that the disease should carry ‘no stigma.’

Michelle Obama who has been the strongest advocate for veterans and their families addressed mental health professionals at the Give an Hour conference on mental illness.

Give an Hour is a nonprofit organization that addresses military community challenges and works to change how mental illness is viewed in society.

At the event, which held at the Newseum in Washington D.C., the public heard personal stories from service members, veterans and family members who described their battles and triumphs in confronting mental health issues.

Just like the military community, Obama said, all Americans should learn to recognize the distress indicators in family and friends.

The first lady spoke emphatically when she said mental illness should carry no stigma, especially when many mentally ill people are afraid to seek help because of how it will “look” to those around them. Mental illnesses also are often treated differently from diseases such as cancer, diabetes or asthma, she added.

“That makes no sense,” she said. “Whether an illness affects your heart, your leg or your brain, it’s still an illness. So there should be absolutely no stigma around mental health. None. Zero.”

Nearly one in five adults — more than 40 million Americans — experience a diagnosable mental health condition like depression or anxiety every year, Obama said.

Two years ago, the White House hosted the National Conference on Mental Health to reach across the country and start changing how mental health is viewed, the first lady recalled.

Today, she announced the result from that conference: the new Campaign to Change Direction.

Working with Give an Hour, Obama described the campaign as a coalition of business, government and nonprofit groups, and the medical community, dedicated to raising mental health awareness and giving people tools to help others with mental health issues.

She recounted the story of Ryan Rigdon, a Navy veteran who twice deployed to Iraq to disarm enemy bombs and improvised explosive devices.

“[On] his first day on duty in Baghdad, Ryan and his team were sent out to dismantle explosives seven different times,” the first lady said.

“Then Ryan encountered a live IED that was camouflaged to look like a rock. Ryan didn’t have his protective suit on and he knew the device could explode at any minute. So he flipped it over and disarmed it with his bare hands.”

Eventually, Rigdon began to experience mental health symptoms, such as extreme emotional highs and lows, severe headaches, ringing in his ears and panic attacks, Obama said. Once out of the military and back at home, she said, he faced additional struggles with family issues, a sick child and difficulty finding employment.

It was another sailor who noticed how Rigdon was struggling and encouraged him to seek help, the first lady said. After hitting rock-bottom and nearly taking his life, Rigdon sought help from Veterans Affairs and Give an Hour.

“In Ryan’s story we hear the story of far too many of our veterans – the struggle to adjust to a new life,” the first lady said. “The terrors and anxieties that just won’t go away — even when they’re back home safe in their own beds.”

While not all veterans are plagued with mental health issues, she said, “The veterans who do struggle are not alone.”

Ryan’s story could have ended in heartbreak, but the people in his life wouldn’t let that happen, the first lady remarked.

“The sailor who reached out to him, the co-worker who supported him, his wife who was there for him every day … they all showed Ryan that he didn’t have to do this alone, and they helped him to change direction,” she said.

Offering the kind of support the military community provides to those in need “is what we’ve got to do for every single person in our own lives,” the first lady insisted.

“We’ve got to listen, connect with them, offer our compassion,” she said, “so that our friends, families, neighbors and our veterans can get the help they need.”