Patrick Kennedy tackles mental health stigma in a new book

Four years into the Covid-19 pandemic, stories about the mental health crisis in the United States continue to emerge daily. According to the CDC, more than 1 in 5 American adults living with a mental illness. Levels of anxiety, depression, substance abuse and other mental health disorders continue to rise among people of all ages, especially among young people, increasing concerns about solutions and a path forward. In 2021, more than 4 in 10 (42%) high school students felt persistently sad or hopeless, almost a third (29%) experienced poor mental health, and more than 1 in 5 (22%) seriously considered attempting suicide.

Keeping with the family tradition of fighting the good fight, Patrick J. Kennedy has been working for years to erase the stigma of mental illness while pushing for effective policy changes. Since his first book publication in 2015, A common struggle, Kennedy has been open about his own struggles with mental health and addiction. Kennedy and his co-author, award-winning journalist and Columbia University professor Stephen Fried, recently released a new book: Profiles in courage in mental health. The book is full of personal stories of people from all backgrounds with different mental health problems. From actors to healthcare providers, each chapter paints a unique portrait of the lived experience of an individual with mental illness. At the same time, Kennedy and Fried strive to ensure that these diseases are not seen as unusual, but as a common struggle that affects us all.

Kennedy adds, “We wrote Profiles in courage in mental health because we thought telling the stories of twelve different people with different mental illnesses and addictions – in depth in a way that is rarely done – could make a real difference in the epidemic our country is experiencing from these diseases. We, and those we interviewed, feel strongly that too many Americans do not truly understand what it is like to experience these diseases, or how to support a friend or loved one with them.”

Although Kennedy and Fried orchestrated the book’s creation, their inspiration, appreciation, and learning from other individuals is evident within its pages. Simone Bile’s bold move to opt out of the Olympics and prioritize her mental health prompted Kennedy and Fried to address the negative reactions and lack of understanding many Americans have about the idea of ​​mental illness. analyze. Readers are taken through a plethora of emotions as they see stories about individuals like Ashley Dunlop, a health care assistant from Nashville, Tennessee, who battled addiction to cocaine, crack, and heroin for most of her life, and relapsed almost countless times. and from treatment centers. Kennedy’s writings show that addiction and mental illness go hand in hand and that recovery is not always linear. While Kennedy briefly shares his history of addiction in the book, he also points out that addiction and mental health have historically been treated as two different problems, when in reality they should be approached the same way.

Although many of the scenes described seem grim, there is no shortage of hope and optimism throughout the book. For example, we hear about Henry Platt, a singer from a high-profile family in entertainment, and his journey with depression while attending the University of Pennsylvania brings elements of encouragement. It is revealed to readers that Henry was able to stand up to the school’s president and advocate for more adequate mental health care for students when the university at the time had none, leading to UPENN creating the position of Chief Wellness Officer. This was an effective change at the school as there was a medical professional responsible for the well-being of students and teachers during essential hours.

“The work was challenging and exciting and sometimes stunningly dark, especially because profile subjects were allowed to withdraw at any time (and some did),” says Fried candidly. “But the people we wrote about were so tirelessly courageous, insightful, and committed to the process, even as they recounted incredibly difficult circumstances and pain, that I was especially inspired by them. I hope these stories will change other people’s lives as they have changed ours.”

On the back of the book is a QR code for the Alignment for Progress, an action-oriented movement initiated by the Kennedy family that uses financial incentives to obtain mental health care, housing, talk therapy and medication. For anyone suffering from anxiety, depression or another mental health condition, Profiles in courage in mental health is a must read and enlightening for those who aren’t. If steps are taken in these kinds of directions, there’s a chance that more Americans will be willing to tell their own stories about their mental health journeys, perhaps saving more lives.

The Welfare beings Blog supports the critical health and well-being of all individuals, to increase awareness, reduce stigma and discrimination, and change public discourse. The Well Beings campaign launched in 2020 with the Youth Mental Health Project, followed by the 2022 documentary series Hidden in plain sight: childhood mental illness (Now streaming on the PBS app), and the upcoming 2025 series, Hide in Right Sight: Adult Spiritually Diseaseproduced and directed by Ewers Brothers Productions, executive produced by Ken Burns, and presented by WETA, the PBS flagship station in our nation’s capital.

For more information: #WellBeings #WellBeingsLive WellBeings.org. You are not alone. If you or someone you know is in crisis, whether contemplating suicide or not, call, text or chat 988 to speak to a trained crisis counselor.