How the conversation currently goes:
Person #1: "Oh, he's just a crazy. Seems totally schizo to me - they should lock him up".
Person #2: "Yeah, I know, totally. He should just kill himself."
Person #3: "Ha. Yeah. Def."

How the conversation SHOULD go:
Person #1: "Oh he's just a crazy. Seems tota...."
Person #2: "...Excuse me? You think it's cool to just go off and label random people 'crazy'? You don't use the word 'crazy' to describe someone who you think is weird. You're the reason why people are so afraid to talk about how they feel, and seek the necessary help."
Person #1: "I'm sorry bro, promise it won't happen again."

You know when you walk down the street and see people who look "emo" or "goth", and you think they're bipolar, schizophrenic, or manic depressive? Well, just because they seem different doesn't mean they are. You think people who look different should be treated so? They shouldn't be.

"Mental Illness" is the "cancer" of our generation. Back in the 1970's/1980's, people were terrified of the term "cancer" - they shuddered when they heard it. It wasn't used in everyday language, because the term was STIGMATIZED. Now, people use it freely to describe the actual medical condition and they aren't afraid to use it. For those of us who were born in the 1980's/1990's, we have to de-stigmatize the term "mental illness".

How can we do this? By supporting groups like Active Minds, Inc. They're the only organization using the voice of college students to de-stigmatize mental illness and they're doing a damn good job at that! Just check out their slogan, "changing the conversation about mental health". I couldn't have put it any better myself.

Let's team up and make a better place for EVERYONE. Mental illnesses are here. They're real. People have them - more people thank you think. Even more, I bet you at least 2-3 of your friends live with a mental illness but they're too afraid to say anything about it. Let's change that together.

We're all working towards the same goal, so why not work together!