I’m not sure we can end mental health stigma. Here’s what we can do instead.

[A note on vocabulary: In my industry, “mental illness” has been rebranded “mental health” when we are in fact NOT describing mental health OR wellness. I use the terms consistent with the field, to keep it simple.]

I’m not sure we can end mental health stigma. Here’s what we can do instead…

Mental health stigma is a serious issue that plagues our society. It is a definite roadblock that deserves attention. Shifting mental health stigma is a worthy goal.

Stigma can cause us to feel shame and embarrassment about our mental state instead of making it easier for us to seek support or therapy when we need it. But what if I told you there is HOPE?

Rather than simply lamenting the fact that shifting mental health stigma may never truly happen, let’s look at what we can do right now — today — to empower ourselves and one another.

There are nested needs within these conversations — from the individual to the societal (current), to the societal (future legacy). All of them are valid.

Raising conscious questions, and conscious objections helps us dig into and explore the reality behind shifting the stigma. It also helps us identify what we CAN do instead.

My focus tends to be on how you can create positive momentum in your own life and the lives around you. I believe that change ripples outward from there — to the larger concentric circle of societal change.

Trying to change attitudes toward mental health may be an uphill battle. The stigma is steeped in generations of societal programming. Moving the collective needle is a noble goal, and I’m not arguing that it’s not needed; it is quite necessary.

But, due to how slowly the Titanic turns, maybe it would be more productive to start a new conversation. Instead of trying to repair that which is slow-or-possibly-unlikely to shift, what would happen if we just changed the playing field entirely?

Or if we threw out the playbook? (If one set of neighborhood kids is playing soccer, let’s start a game of baseball. Both games can run concurrently. Both conversations are important.).

Let’s shift the conversation from people thinking they’re broken. Let’s start a NEW paradigm.

Let’s talk about brains, and how to best optimize them.

Neurohealth doesn’t have decades of stigma attached to it. From a conversation perspective, neuro health is a clean slate, a fresh start. It’s a pathway forward.

Let’s come together and talk about how we can care for our brains. Brain optimization is a positive psychology model. It’s a strengths-based model. It’s a person-centered Rogerian model. It’s supremely respectful and completely individualized and bespoke.

We all have brains. They’re all wonderful, unique, and special. As are each of you.

Neurohealth optimization doesn’t carry the “broken,” “weak,” “defective,” or “screwed up” vocabulary — which is OFTEN internalized.

Neurohealth is a beautiful new framework in which we can focus on developing better habits, creating more awareness around managing stress, depression, and anxiety, and cultivating resilience.

We can learn how to work WITH our brains. Not against them.

We can harness our inner strength and resources. We can learn to go with the flow, downriver instead of paddling upstream all the time.

WE CAN LIVE IN GREATER HARMONY.

We can learn how to recognize the signs that something isn’t optimized in our brains so that we can take action before things get out of hand. This doesn’t have to be a daunting prospect — it’s an opportunity to build skills, explore new tools and techniques, and gain insight into ourselves in ways that allow us TO THRIVE.

Furthermore, because the conversation is around OPTIMIZATION, anyone can benefit.

We all want to be better versions of ourselves, right?

You don’t have to have a diagnosis to optimize your brain. You can be a “normal” high-functioning, successful individual with meaning and purpose in your life. You can be happy with your brain, or life, and still want to optimize.

You can have stress that wouldn’t necessarily qualify as a mental health issue or be an issue that needs mental health treatment. None of that matters.

You can also have mild to severe mental health symptoms. Or anything in between. None of that matters. Because it’s a conversation of WELLNESS.

We don’t have a stigma around wellness.

Neurohealth optimization doesn’t have a stigma threshold you must cross to improve your life.

We can all uplevel. We can all strive for self-improvement, personal growth, and development. We can all stretch and expand onwards and upwards.

Mental health stigma is often ingrained. But with a shift towards a neuro health mindset, we are empowered to create sustainable change in our lives.

A neuro health mindset is a growth mindset — renewable, regenerative, vested, for REAL CHANGE.

It allows us to reclaim the conversation. By starting a fresh one.

It allows us to live in a world of magic, miracles, and possibilities. That kind of hope is desperately missing in the mental health industry and with many mental health professionals.

Together, we can create a world where our brains are nurtured and supported — one that allows us to reach our full potential.

We can create a world where we use our minds, our consciousness, and our spirit (collective and individual) to shed old patterns and programming which no longer serve us.

Yes, please.

The greater good is evolving and elevating. We are pushing boundaries every day. We are growing and ascending. Let’s change the conversation to one that suits this new reality — not the old.

Let’s move beyond stigma and into well-being and neuro health optimization.

Let’s make change happen!

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