think back to the last conversation you
had about Millennials probably went
something like this
look they’re always on their phones they
never buy real estate they eat avocado
toast
now without photographing at first
they’re always posting selfies they’ve
created their own distinct shade of the
color pink they’re lazy they’re entitled
they’re impatient they don’t understand
the value of hard work they move back in
with their parents and it’s all because
they were raised on participation
trophies spoiler alert I’m a millennial
what I see is empowerment like none
other
we don’t just sit back and complain or
accept the status quo we roll up our
sleeves to get to work our way we’re
entrepreneurs we’re problem solvers and
we get stuff done Millennials have all
of the characteristics necessary to
defeat the stigma surrounding mental
health asking for help is a sign of
strength not a weakness and we’re on a
mission to make it known take one of my
friends for example he and I met an
undergrad I’d begun my advocacy work
he’d notice and he reached out to let me
know that an article we’d posted about
Robin Williams’s suicide made him
realize that he too had been struggling
with depression for years fast forward
and he’s now working an entry-level job
in the media industry if you’ve ever
watched a video that’s been edited to
remove graphic content you should thank
him he had to watch it over and over
again to make sure it turned out that
way having to do this on top of fighting
depression leaves him crying in his car
on his way home from work obviously
hearing this breaks my heart so I asked
him is the company know and do they
offer therapy to help offset the effects
of this work and he abruptly replied no
and if I make a
I won’t advance I’m dispensable there
are dozens of people out there waiting
to replace me he knows he has a problem
but he’s determined not to let it affect
his career so he just muddles through
another one of my friends serves in the
military
knowing that mental health is kind of my
thing
he was excited to share with me about
the counseling services available on
base I was thrilled to hear that our
armed forces have access to these
resources the more we got to know each
other the more he began to share with me
about a rough patch he’d been going
through so I suggested he check out some
of those counseling services he’d
mentioned his response was the same no
if anybody sees me go in there or if
they check my records to see that I’ve
gone I won’t advance the military
wouldn’t want me if they thought
something was wrong with me here are two
Millennials I know who know that it
shouldn’t be this way and yet they still
they’re employed in different industries
with different struggles but the same
reluctance to reach out for help worried
that it might negatively impact their
careers that’s the stigma folks part of
the problem is that everything out there
makes mental health sound dire we see it
depicted in stock photos of miserably
sad looking humans as a crying Rock and
an antidepressant commercial and I get
it certainly part of the experience but
it’s not helping anyone nobody wants to
be the sad Rock and if you don’t want to
identify with something you’ll probably
deny that it’s affecting you regardless
of how many times you’ve heard someone
say it you can’t just snap out of it or
get over it until health issues need
treatment it’s one thing to be sick it’s
another thing to hate yourself for being
sick or to think of yourself as weak or
to worry about whether or not somebody
else views you as weak and that’s the
problem we need to be talking about the
straw
is real and so is the stigma a diagnosis
is one thing but the label is crazy mad
not psycho but a company in are often
worse we inherited this stigma from our
grandparents generation who denied that
mental health was even a thing our
parents were the ones who began to
acknowledge it but they disappear for an
hour on a random Thursday to talk to a
therapist and didn’t tell anyone
our generation though is different
perhaps it’s social media and the
digital age of oversharing but we’re
telling you what we ate for lunch and
where we disappeared to on that Thursday
by us sharing that one we’re in pain –
these things are real and three they’re
affecting us we’ve showed up and tried
to make this part of the collective
consciousness there’s something about
human nature that makes us feel that
there’s strength in numbers and there
are statistics to prove it you’re not
alone one in four American adults will
deal with a mental health issue at some
point in their lifetime that’s 60 1.5
million people and while that number is
huge
the real number is far larger because
most will go untreated due to stigma and
therefore unreported that’s what’s
killing us the stigma it’s keeping us
from reaching out for the help that we
need and then it’s skewing our
statistics so we don’t have an accurate
grasp on the magnitude of the problem
meanwhile the Center for Disease Control
estimates that only 17 percent of
American adults can be considered to be
in a state of optimal mental health at
any given time
17 percent so why do Millennials care so
much about mental health
well we’re currently in the stage of
life that’s filled with transitions and
the sweet spot for when the onset of
many of these diseases will occur is
late teens early 20s do you realize that
there’s a span of like 10 years where
you’re supposed to figure out what you
want to be when you grow up then grow up
find a job pursue a passion pay back the
loans you took out to get the education
you
either did you said passionate job find
a soulmate mate and then get back to
work what if you can’t say it in one
breath then maybe it’s too much and
that’s what we’re up against mental
health issues result as a mixture of
genetics and environment and it’s those
kinds of pressures that tend to bring
out the symptoms of anxiety and
depression everybody’s so busy
projecting this picture-perfect image
and it’s also misleading and that
feeling of isolation is the worst by the
time I was a sophomore in college I’d
had enough conversations to recognize
that my peers were all just as confused
and overwhelmed as I was I met with the
Dean and pitched him an ID I had to drum
up awareness about mental health
resources available for free on our
campus he told me to join something
pre-existing and make change from the
inside let me tell you nothing motivates
a millennial more than being told no so
by the time classes started again in the
fall of 2013 my friends and I had a
nonprofit called stronger than stigma
it’s a for us by a social movement
dedicated to mental health advocacy for
Millennials we wanted to hold space for
people where there was no pressure to be
anything but yourself where you’d feel
understood and accepted for all that you
are it didn’t exist when we needed it so
we knew we’d have to create it we’re all
about breaking down the barriers that
keep people from reaching out for help
we had lived experience and we knew that
when a student begins to feel depressed
stressed or not quite like themselves
they talked to a friend and that’s what
was missing from the equation a
millennial support network something you
could belong to that made you feel like
you weren’t alone I’m here today because
I want you to know that you can make a
difference in your everyday life and we
need you to dr. Seuss said it best
unless someone like you cares a whole
awful lot nothing is going to get better
it’s not it’s not enough anymore to just
start the conversation that was so 2013
it’s time now to redirect the
conversation to focus on dialogue that
ends misinformation myths and
misunderstanding whether you realize it
or not the things you say are
perpetuating the stigma don’t worry I
can help you with that you have the
power to choose your words and to use
them for good
to promote empathy and understanding
here are three life hacks to help you
fight stigma and your day-to-day life
first be kind with your words with
regards to mental health stop joking
about it for the love of all that’s good
and right in the world stop saying the
weather is bipolar it isn’t if our only
impressions of mental health are
negative then of course nobody wants to
be associated with it second stop
letting snarky comments slide your
silence fuels the stigma if you find
yourself cringing in conversation when a
friend stereotypes the mentally ill even
responding with dude that’s not cool
it’s better than just nodding and
waiting for the next topic that’s your
moment to make actionable change third
if you know someone who’s struggling and
you find yourself searching for the
right words wanting to be supportive but
not knowing what to say
my best advice is don’t say anything
literally all you have to do is show up
it’s the most undervalued job in the
world and let me reassure you if it
feels awkward then you’re doing it right
don’t give up on that person they need
you assure them you’re there and then
just be there in the same room on the
same couch whatever it is occupying the
same space is enough lastly if you are
please stop assuming you’re bumming
people out you are not a burden
when your brain is sick and your
thoughts have taken you as prisoner
you’re engaged in battle struggling is
exhausting and while your parents
friends and partners may never see that
battle I know that you are putting forth
a huge amount of effort you’re probably
saying things like I don’t know how you
still love me or I’m sorry I’m like this
I know you don’t feel like yourself and
you’re worried they might not recognize
you either but the person they love is
still in there it’s still you I know you
don’t want to weigh your people down so
you’re keeping to yourself but you have
to invite them in that’s the only way
they can help you through it
it takes time so you’ll have to wait it
out but you can do it this just got very
real and you might be asking yourself
how does she know well that person with
those thoughts and fears that was me I
was 17 the first time I started saying
those things and feeling that way before
then I thought anxiety and depression
were just more descriptive words for
worry and sadness I didn’t know they
were medical conditions or even how to
recognize my own symptoms I’m still
working on owning my story I know what
it feels like to feel like there’s no
way you’ll possibly make it to the final
bell of the school day let alone to the
next chapter of your life if that’s you
now know that I hear you and I’m working
for you we can’t stop until we’re living
in a world without stigma we’ll know
we’ve made it when asking for help is
celebrated and when saying you’re not on
your A game isn’t the end of the world
when the totality of the human
experience isn’t feared but managed
instead when no one has to choose
between their mental health and a
promotion at work and when there’s no
longer a right answer to the question
how are you you don’t have to
good all the time whatever has been done
before us hasn’t cut it we Millennials
know it so we started this movement but
it’s time now for everybody to join in
together all of us are stronger than
stigma [Applause]
had about Millennials probably went
something like this
look they’re always on their phones they
never buy real estate they eat avocado
toast
now without photographing at first
they’re always posting selfies they’ve
created their own distinct shade of the
color pink they’re lazy they’re entitled
they’re impatient they don’t understand
the value of hard work they move back in
with their parents and it’s all because
they were raised on participation
trophies spoiler alert I’m a millennial
what I see is empowerment like none
other
we don’t just sit back and complain or
accept the status quo we roll up our
sleeves to get to work our way we’re
entrepreneurs we’re problem solvers and
we get stuff done Millennials have all
of the characteristics necessary to
defeat the stigma surrounding mental
health asking for help is a sign of
strength not a weakness and we’re on a
mission to make it known take one of my
friends for example he and I met an
undergrad I’d begun my advocacy work
he’d notice and he reached out to let me
know that an article we’d posted about
Robin Williams’s suicide made him
realize that he too had been struggling
with depression for years fast forward
and he’s now working an entry-level job
in the media industry if you’ve ever
watched a video that’s been edited to
remove graphic content you should thank
him he had to watch it over and over
again to make sure it turned out that
way having to do this on top of fighting
depression leaves him crying in his car
on his way home from work obviously
hearing this breaks my heart so I asked
him is the company know and do they
offer therapy to help offset the effects
of this work and he abruptly replied no
and if I make a
I won’t advance I’m dispensable there
are dozens of people out there waiting
to replace me he knows he has a problem
but he’s determined not to let it affect
his career so he just muddles through
another one of my friends serves in the
military
knowing that mental health is kind of my
thing
he was excited to share with me about
the counseling services available on
base I was thrilled to hear that our
armed forces have access to these
resources the more we got to know each
other the more he began to share with me
about a rough patch he’d been going
through so I suggested he check out some
of those counseling services he’d
mentioned his response was the same no
if anybody sees me go in there or if
they check my records to see that I’ve
gone I won’t advance the military
wouldn’t want me if they thought
something was wrong with me here are two
Millennials I know who know that it
shouldn’t be this way and yet they still
they’re employed in different industries
with different struggles but the same
reluctance to reach out for help worried
that it might negatively impact their
careers that’s the stigma folks part of
the problem is that everything out there
makes mental health sound dire we see it
depicted in stock photos of miserably
sad looking humans as a crying Rock and
an antidepressant commercial and I get
it certainly part of the experience but
it’s not helping anyone nobody wants to
be the sad Rock and if you don’t want to
identify with something you’ll probably
deny that it’s affecting you regardless
of how many times you’ve heard someone
say it you can’t just snap out of it or
get over it until health issues need
treatment it’s one thing to be sick it’s
another thing to hate yourself for being
sick or to think of yourself as weak or
to worry about whether or not somebody
else views you as weak and that’s the
problem we need to be talking about the
straw
is real and so is the stigma a diagnosis
is one thing but the label is crazy mad
not psycho but a company in are often
worse we inherited this stigma from our
grandparents generation who denied that
mental health was even a thing our
parents were the ones who began to
acknowledge it but they disappear for an
hour on a random Thursday to talk to a
therapist and didn’t tell anyone
our generation though is different
perhaps it’s social media and the
digital age of oversharing but we’re
telling you what we ate for lunch and
where we disappeared to on that Thursday
by us sharing that one we’re in pain –
these things are real and three they’re
affecting us we’ve showed up and tried
to make this part of the collective
consciousness there’s something about
human nature that makes us feel that
there’s strength in numbers and there
are statistics to prove it you’re not
alone one in four American adults will
deal with a mental health issue at some
point in their lifetime that’s 60 1.5
million people and while that number is
huge
the real number is far larger because
most will go untreated due to stigma and
therefore unreported that’s what’s
killing us the stigma it’s keeping us
from reaching out for the help that we
need and then it’s skewing our
statistics so we don’t have an accurate
grasp on the magnitude of the problem
meanwhile the Center for Disease Control
estimates that only 17 percent of
American adults can be considered to be
in a state of optimal mental health at
any given time
17 percent so why do Millennials care so
much about mental health
well we’re currently in the stage of
life that’s filled with transitions and
the sweet spot for when the onset of
many of these diseases will occur is
late teens early 20s do you realize that
there’s a span of like 10 years where
you’re supposed to figure out what you
want to be when you grow up then grow up
find a job pursue a passion pay back the
loans you took out to get the education
you
either did you said passionate job find
a soulmate mate and then get back to
work what if you can’t say it in one
breath then maybe it’s too much and
that’s what we’re up against mental
health issues result as a mixture of
genetics and environment and it’s those
kinds of pressures that tend to bring
out the symptoms of anxiety and
depression everybody’s so busy
projecting this picture-perfect image
and it’s also misleading and that
feeling of isolation is the worst by the
time I was a sophomore in college I’d
had enough conversations to recognize
that my peers were all just as confused
and overwhelmed as I was I met with the
Dean and pitched him an ID I had to drum
up awareness about mental health
resources available for free on our
campus he told me to join something
pre-existing and make change from the
inside let me tell you nothing motivates
a millennial more than being told no so
by the time classes started again in the
fall of 2013 my friends and I had a
nonprofit called stronger than stigma
it’s a for us by a social movement
dedicated to mental health advocacy for
Millennials we wanted to hold space for
people where there was no pressure to be
anything but yourself where you’d feel
understood and accepted for all that you
are it didn’t exist when we needed it so
we knew we’d have to create it we’re all
about breaking down the barriers that
keep people from reaching out for help
we had lived experience and we knew that
when a student begins to feel depressed
stressed or not quite like themselves
they talked to a friend and that’s what
was missing from the equation a
millennial support network something you
could belong to that made you feel like
you weren’t alone I’m here today because
I want you to know that you can make a
difference in your everyday life and we
need you to dr. Seuss said it best
unless someone like you cares a whole
awful lot nothing is going to get better
it’s not it’s not enough anymore to just
start the conversation that was so 2013
it’s time now to redirect the
conversation to focus on dialogue that
ends misinformation myths and
misunderstanding whether you realize it
or not the things you say are
perpetuating the stigma don’t worry I
can help you with that you have the
power to choose your words and to use
them for good
to promote empathy and understanding
here are three life hacks to help you
fight stigma and your day-to-day life
first be kind with your words with
regards to mental health stop joking
about it for the love of all that’s good
and right in the world stop saying the
weather is bipolar it isn’t if our only
impressions of mental health are
negative then of course nobody wants to
be associated with it second stop
letting snarky comments slide your
silence fuels the stigma if you find
yourself cringing in conversation when a
friend stereotypes the mentally ill even
responding with dude that’s not cool
it’s better than just nodding and
waiting for the next topic that’s your
moment to make actionable change third
if you know someone who’s struggling and
you find yourself searching for the
right words wanting to be supportive but
not knowing what to say
my best advice is don’t say anything
literally all you have to do is show up
it’s the most undervalued job in the
world and let me reassure you if it
feels awkward then you’re doing it right
don’t give up on that person they need
you assure them you’re there and then
just be there in the same room on the
same couch whatever it is occupying the
same space is enough lastly if you are
please stop assuming you’re bumming
people out you are not a burden
when your brain is sick and your
thoughts have taken you as prisoner
you’re engaged in battle struggling is
exhausting and while your parents
friends and partners may never see that
battle I know that you are putting forth
a huge amount of effort you’re probably
saying things like I don’t know how you
still love me or I’m sorry I’m like this
I know you don’t feel like yourself and
you’re worried they might not recognize
you either but the person they love is
still in there it’s still you I know you
don’t want to weigh your people down so
you’re keeping to yourself but you have
to invite them in that’s the only way
they can help you through it
it takes time so you’ll have to wait it
out but you can do it this just got very
real and you might be asking yourself
how does she know well that person with
those thoughts and fears that was me I
was 17 the first time I started saying
those things and feeling that way before
then I thought anxiety and depression
were just more descriptive words for
worry and sadness I didn’t know they
were medical conditions or even how to
recognize my own symptoms I’m still
working on owning my story I know what
it feels like to feel like there’s no
way you’ll possibly make it to the final
bell of the school day let alone to the
next chapter of your life if that’s you
now know that I hear you and I’m working
for you we can’t stop until we’re living
in a world without stigma we’ll know
we’ve made it when asking for help is
celebrated and when saying you’re not on
your A game isn’t the end of the world
when the totality of the human
experience isn’t feared but managed
instead when no one has to choose
between their mental health and a
promotion at work and when there’s no
longer a right answer to the question
how are you you don’t have to
good all the time whatever has been done
before us hasn’t cut it we Millennials
know it so we started this movement but
it’s time now for everybody to join in
together all of us are stronger than
stigma [Applause]
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