Half of Us, ReMIND.org and Active Minds attempt to remove stigma

MtvU is a “cool” network. The network knows what is “cool” for its target demographic of college students across the nation. However, between the blocks of music videos from obscure artists a very interesting series of public service announcements plays intermittently throughout the day. These PSAs comprise the campaign, Half of Us.

Half of Us is a campaign ran jointly by mtvU and the The Jed Foundation with the overall goal of removing the stigma of discussing mental health issues among college students. The title for the program is derived from the fact that, when surveyed, half of the college students in the United States reported they have been so depressed they could not function at some point during their previous school year.

The website address is consistently displayed at the end of the PSAs. The PSAs are captivating and make the viewer want to visit the website to learn more. The PSAs range from quiet and sentimental to humorous with a strong ending.

Photo by Find Rehab via Flickr

The website for Half of Us contains even more alarming statistics. According to the website, 19 million people in the United States are affected by depression every year. Even worse, mental illnesses are so devastating that suicide is the third leading cause of death among all people between the ages of 15 and 24.

However, where the campaign uses the strength of working with a branch of MTV is by showcasing celebrities discussing the issues they have faced with depression, anxiety and other concerns on the Half of Us website. These spots are in a separate section entitled, “Our Stories.” Half of Us has interviewed numerous celebrities including R&B singer Mary J. Blige, underground rapper Cage and NBA star Metta World Peace. Each celebrity gives intimate details of their lives behind closed doors and how they really feel from time to time. What makes these interviews effective is the ability of the celebrities to speak plainly and openly about their past. None of the people interviewed are apprehensive about their story.

In more recent efforts, the Half of Us campaign partnered with ReMIND.org and. ReMIND.org is an extension of the Bob Woodruff Foundation’s effort to aid members of the American armed forces returning from war. They attempt to do this by, “[C]onnecting US  troops to the help they need, educate the public about the needs of service members returning from war and collaborate with key federal, state and local experts to identify and solve issues related to the successful return of service members from combat to civilian life.” Bob Woodruff is an ABC News anchor and author of In an Instant: A Family’s Journey of Love and Healing.

ReMIND.org’s website reports statistics surrounding transitioning soldiers. Every 80 minutes a veteran commits suicide. One in five veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from post traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury and/or depression. Estimates believe that more than 320,000 veterans have sustained traumatic brain injuries.

Photo courtesy of Sgourley11 via Flickr

The PSAs backed by Half of Us, The Jed Foundation and ReMIND.org have as much of an impact (if not more) as the others. Some of the spots give a glimpse of what a transitioning veteran is going through, but another tells college students how they can help in small ways even if it just means asking, “How are you doing?”

These campaigns are not fighting to remove the stigma around discussion of mental health alone. The University of Louisville’s counseling center is working towards bringing a chapter of Active Minds to the Louisville campus. Active Minds uses student voices to change conversations about mental health on college campuses. The chapters are student-run. They aid to bring about mental health awareness and education  by promoting open, enlightened discussion of mental health. They also create advocacy groups on campuses.

Active Minds hopes to serve as a liaison between students and the mental health community. The overall goals of  the organization is to increase students’ awareness of mental health issues, provide information and resources regarding mental health and encourage students to seek help as soon as it is needed.

With these multiple efforts to help college students discuss more openly mental health issues, that are fairly commonplace around numerous campuses, the mere fact there still remains a stigma appears to be an absurd concept.