May is Mental Health Awareness Month (MHAM 2026); there is, at this point, no shortage of information that elucidates the complexity and gravity of what we face.
With that, it is on us as a society to determine how to improve the lives of our coworkers, neighbors, friends, relatives, and ourselves. What we create to better support and aid those we know extends to those we don’t, which means societal and economic enrichment. This as opposed to societal, cultural, and economic deterioration, insecurity, anxiety, and darkness.
Let’s first highlight, thanks to the work of NIMH (National Institutes of Mental Health), the gigantic gap in actual treatment. What about the other half – approximately 30 million people – who didn’t receive treatment, due to lack of funds, insurance coverage, available options, lack of education on recognizing what they’re contending with, stigma, fear of cultural shame, etc.? What of the severely low treatment rates among men and multiple ethnicities?
How do we improve this moving forward?
