How PR pros can help reduce the stigma around mental illness

Even as more public figures like American gymnast Simone Biles share their own struggles with anxiety and depression, our society is still woefully underprepared for the mental health conversations that will be needed as the COVID-19 pandemic heads into its third calendar year.

Reducing the stigma around mental illness has never been more important than it is now. It’s estimated that nearly 1 in 5 adults in the United States currently live with a mental illness. If you work in a company of 100 people, that means 20 of your coworkers are struggling. That person struggling might be you. In my agency, one of those people is me.

Like many people with a diagnosed mental illness, I felt I had to hide the symptoms of my bipolar disorder in order to further my career, often putting my mental well-being at further risk. Which is why, now that I’m in a leadership position, I advocate for normalizing the conversation around mental illness.