Although progress has been made, mental health professionals continue to face the challenge of replacing stigma with hope.
Eliminating misconceptions and emphasizing treatment are among the missions of Mental Illness Awareness Week, being observed through Saturday.
During this year's observance, members of NAMI Missouri, the state chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, will be raising awareness, educating the public and advocating for access to mental health care.
According to NAMI, one in 10 adults living in Missouri has a serious mental illness. And the impact extends beyond the individual to society.
With treatment, particularly early stage treatment, NAMI reports, people suffering mental illness can recover and live relatively normal lives. Without it, however, mental illness can lead to unemployment, hospitalizations, disability, homelessness, incarceration, suicide and early death.
NAMI reports 40 percent of adults with major depression, schizophrenia, bipolar illness and anxiety disorders receive no treatment at all, and 20 percent of Missouri youth between the ages of 13-18 suffer a mental health condition that will result in half of them dropping out of high school.
Clearly, we all have an interest in providing mental health care, but barriers exist. According to NAMI, thousands of people with mental illnesses have no health insurance and many rural Missourians must travel 90 or more miles to see a mental health professional.
Cindi Keele, director of NAMI MO, said, "by joining together, educating ourselves and being vocal, we can change this. In doing so, we will relieve a lot of suffering, save lives and preserve precious state resources."
Mental illness is both serious and widespread.
The misconceptions that some people exaggerate mental illness to evade responsibility is cruel and false. Like any physical ailment - heart disease, stroke or cancer - it is both debilitating and potentially deadly.
Treatment and access to it are the keys to productive, engaged and brighter futures.