This article is written by Jon. Jon is fond of reading, writing & meeting people. He loves writing about Employment Law Edinburgh. In a former life, Jon worked as a content specialist and has good knowledge about employment policies & law.

It is unfortunate that people suffering from mental illness, be it mild or severe experience shame, stigma, and misgivings when other people find out about their condition. And the saddest part about being a mentally ill person is that even your own family may not also believe that you are ill, which makes your condition even worse.

As a human being, it is important to provide help and support to those who are suffering. Mentally ill people must be understood, given care, and treated equally. It is our job as a human being to educate and raise awareness in this type of pain that is often misconstrued and mishandled. Neither spreading words nor preaching helps to tackle problems relating to mental illness. Educating people around you about mental health can bring the much required change, and this will help to make the world a better place for those who are affected by mental illness.

If you truly care, you should start making a difference in the community you are in. How can you do it anyway? Well, here is a mix of tips, ideas, and steps you can do.

1. Just talk about it or include it in regular conversation. Of course, do not come out as aggressive and toxic. If people do not want to talk about it, then avoid talking about it. If they are willing to discuss, then go ahead.
2. If you have a history of mental illness or are living/taking care of someone who is mentally ill, be sure to share your story with people who are going through the same situation as you. And if you have a good opportunity to talk about it, then do so.
3. Educate people not to be judgemental and rude. This can be a difficult thing to do, and people might shun you. Start slowly on this part. Only do this to your relatives and close friends, or people you know who would listen to what you say.
4. Help as a volunteer in organizations that focus on mental health awareness. Aside from helping mentally ill people, you can build excellent connections in organizations.
5. Encourage people to get screened. This can be difficult because of multiple reasons, so start with the ones who are close to you. Also, you do not have to push them. Some people do not want others to know they have a mental disorder. You can just inform them on how and where they can go for screening.
6. Be a better friend. Just imagine, almost 20% of young people experience a type of mental disorder at one point in their life. Even if your friends or people close to you are not screened yet, being a better friend to them will benefit them. Having a good friend not only helps in curing mental illnesses, but it also helps in preventing one from developing.
7. Start educating children about mental health awareness and non-judgemental speak. It is crucial to start making them aware at an early age. With knowledge and time, they will inevitably become good, kind adults with a heart to spare for those who are suffering, whether they are mentally ill or not.
8. Take time to spread awareness to the public. You do not need to stand up and talk loudly about mental health awareness. You can just simply give out pamphlets. The pamphlet might contain information about your organization, telephone numbers for mental illness related groups, or just a right message to share to lighten up a person’s day.

Statistics relating to Mental Illness

1. Depression is the number one cause of mental disability in the world.
2. Approximately more than 61 million Americans experience a mental condition every year. That accounts for 25% of adults in the United States. This accounts for, one in four people!
3. Around 70% up to 90% of mentally ill people have their conditions improve through treatments.
4. Around 800,000 people die because of suicide every year. If you combine the population of Maldives and the Bahamas, you will get approximately 850,000 people.
5. Only 25% of people who have a mental illness feel that they are understood by other people, or that there are people who understand mental illnesses.
6. Around 350 million people in the world are clinically depressed.
7. Almost 80% of suicide cases in the United States were committed by males.
8. Forty million people in the United States suffer from anxiety.
9. Around 30% of college students have admitted that they feel depressed to the extent that they think they are performing poorly in their studies. Around 7.5% of the college students surveyed have thought about and even considered suicide for the past year.
10. Around 3.5 million Americans suffer from schizophrenia. Do note that the development of schizophrenia starts between 16 to 25 years of age. Also, about2 million people in America suffer from bipolar disorder.