The Facts

1. Breakdown of Mental Illness

Disorders such as these can profoundly disrupt a person's thinking, feeling, moods, ability to relate to others and capacity for coping with the demands of life.

Mental illnesses can affect persons of any age, race, religion, or income. Mental illnesses are not the result of personal weakness, lack of character, or poor upbringing.

"People with mental health conditions deserve just as much support and compassion as people with physical health conditions.”

2. The Hardships of Suicide

People who experience suicidal thoughts and feelings are suffering with tremendous emotional pain. People who have died by suicide typically had overwhelming feelings of hopelessness, despair, and helplessness. Suicide is not about a moral weakness or a character flaw. People considering suicide feel as though their pain will never end and that suicide is the only way to stop the suffering.

"Suicide is permanent solution to a temporary problem."

3. The Perils of Addiction

Addiction is a complex condition, a brain disease that is manifested by compulsive substance use despite harmful consequence. People with addiction (severe substance use disorder) have an intense focus on using a certain substance(s), such as alcohol or drugs, to the point that it takes over their life. They keep using alcohol or a drug even when they know it will cause problems. Yet a number of effective treatments are available and people can recover from addiction and lead normal, productive lives.

“Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” 

4. Comparing Physical and Mental Abuse

Emotional abuse is painful and extremely real. When people think of abusive relationships, they often associate them with physical violence. You can see the bruises or broken bones, but this isn't the only type of abuse there is. There are other kinds of abusive behavior that can be directed against a partner, family member or even colleague. Emotional abuse is a form of domestic violence, and it can have devastating effects on the mental health of the victim.

“Refuse to inherit dysfunction. Learn new ways of living instead of repeating what you lived through.”

5. Violence

Violence is a global phenomenon resulting in the deaths of more than 1.6 million people each year, making it one of the leading causes of death worldwide. While no country is untouched by violence, the vast majority of its resultant deaths occur in low- to middle-income countries, many of which are stricken with internal conflicts. However, it should be kept in mind that violent deaths cannot simply be attributed to war, and more than 80% of such deaths occur outside of armed conflicts.

“I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent.” 

6. The Horrors of Sex Trafficking 

Sex trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery in which individuals perform commercial sex through the use of force, fraud, or coercion. Minors under the age of 18 engaging in commercial sex are considered to be victims of human trafficking, regardless of the use of force, fraud, or coercion.Sex traffickers frequently target victims and then use violence, threats, lies, false promises, debt bondage, or other forms of control and manipulation to keep victims involved in the sex industry for their own profit.

“People were created to be loved. Things were created to be used. The reason why the world is in chaos is because things are being loved and people are being used.”

7. The Struggles of the LGBTQ+ Community

Learning to be yourself and dealing with other people’s perception of you can be hard for anyone. This process can be especially stressful or tough for students who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT). In fact, they can face unique issues when it comes to mental health. The discrimination LGBT students may face or the pressure they feel from their family or community, can put them at greater risk for emotional health struggles like depression, anxiety, substance abuse and even suicide.

"I believe that marriage isn't, between a man and woman but between love and love."

Summary

All these topics are huge factors in our everyday life that either we ourselves deal with or those closest to us. We are striving to create a hub of information that will help you better understand what is happening. There are so many false stereotypes or preconceived notions dealing with these issues, we hope to break those down and allow a new perspective towards greater empathy for all.