End Fear Of Mental Illness And Prevent Suicide!


Recent research shows that more than 13 million Americans live with some form of major mental illness or disorder. Broken down, that averages to about one-fourth of people who battle mental illness some time in their lives.

America isn’t the only country with rising mental illness cases. Roughly one in five Canadians struggle with mental illness in their lifetime. However, few receive the care needed to recover and cope with the illnesses. Reports estimate that only one in three people get proper treatment. However, despite the steady increase of mental illness patients, society still struggles to accept and support them. People would rather suffer in silence than risk ridicule from their communities.

Kyle MacNevin, 23, and Kayley Reed, 22, teamed up for a support-and-rescue mission. The Canadian duo created a project called “Wear Your Label.” They design shirts with various slogans to battle the negativity that mental illness patients face in their communities and remind them that they are not alone in their struggles. “It’s ok not to be okay” is the pair’s most popular creation thus far.

They also created a shirt that says “Every 40 Seconds,” to raise awareness about the alarming statistic increase for suicides.

“That’s a very scary statistic and it’s a very powerful one,” MacNevin recently told CTV News.

The team hopes to take some of the fear out of any mental illness and disorder for both the patients and their loved ones. They give a percentage of every sale to several mental health facilities and programs.

“What we really love is that we can use such simple language to bring home really serious and important issues,” MacNevin said.

The subject of mental illness is close to home for the duo, because they fought battles of their own. MacNevin struggled with anxiety and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and Reed battled an eating disorder. Like many people fearful of the reactions of those around them, Reed never told anyone she was sick.

“I felt that I was alone,” she said. “I didn’t think I could reach out to the people in my life because I thought they wouldn’t understand.”

As a gentle message to those who suffer with eating disorders, MacNevin and Reed put the message “P.S. This size does not define you” on the tags.

“It’s something so simple… that can make an impact on someone’s day when they’re getting dressed,” Reed said.

What started as a small summer project now supplies stores in more than 30 countries with their clothes, and they report successful progress. MacNevin and Reed hope to grow in the coming months and add both professional outfits and sport wear to the market. However, their main goal is making mental illness discussion a common and comfortable thing.

The project’s success earned the duo a spot in New York’s Fashion Week last year, and recently, into the Fashion Innovation in Toronto, Canada. They also plan to open their own stores, and use their own group of models, each of whom lives with a mental illness.

Communities here in America also acknowledge the increase of mental illness cases and suicide. In Kentucky, the Louisville branch of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, or NAMI, plans to increase resources offered to patients and their families in 2016. They offer mental illness services and support programs at no cost.

A Oklahoma health reporter, Jaclyn Cosgrove heads a forum called “Behind the Headlines,” inspired by an investigation into mental illness. People with addiction and mental illness histories help with the forum and share their stories, to show others that recovery is possible and help them hold on to hope.

[Photo by Sandra Mu/Getty Images]

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