Advocates and celebrities share stories of mental illness

Some 350 million people worldwide suffer from depression. From a nonprofit campaign to two famous musicians, many are sharing their personal experiences to help remove the stigma around the disease.

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Communicators know there is magic in storytelling. That was evidenced this week with three instances of human vulnerability in stories about those suffering from depression and other mental illnesses.

In Texas, the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute and its partners recently launched a campaign dubbed, “Okay to Say.”

According to the website, the goal is to “increase awareness that most mental illnesses are treatable and to offer messages of hope and recovery to Texans and their families.” The website also says:

To change the dialog around mental health will take more than a short-term campaign. Okay to Say is envisioned to be a dynamic, ongoing, community-based movement that will engage Texans statewide in talking openly about the hope and recovery surrounding treatable mental illnesses.

The online community is a result of a statewide survey that found:

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