Stop the Stigma: Why it’s important to talk about Mental Health | Heather Sarkis | TEDxGainesville

22 March 2025


Stop the Stigma: Why it's important to talk about Mental Health | Heather Sarkis | TEDxGainesville



Heather shines an understanding light in the dark “stigma” of mental health. She provides a unique viewpoint and embraces the immediate need for mental health care. Heather Young Sarkis is a Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner with over 15-years’ experience in different roles within the psychiatric and mental health field. She is a graduate of the University of Florida College of Nursing, and recently graduated from a Fellowship in Integrative Medicine from the University of Arizona. Ms. Sarkis is the co-founder of the Sarkis Family Charitable Foundation, a grass-roots effort with the goal of reducing stigma related to mental illness through community education and engagement. She is also a member of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association and an active member in the Junior League of Gainesville. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

[Music] consider that statistically speaking you are one of those people that you just shook hands with will likely experience a mental illness at some point in your lifetime forty three point eight million adults experience mental illness every year that's a high prevalence of mental illness yet why is it something we're still afraid to talk about in October everything is pink for breast cancer in November men grow out all their facial hair for prostate cancer it's a great excuse for this guy not to shave we go to galas we go to golf tournaments we go to five case we go to fundraisers and more for heart disease cancer and many other illnesses and while all of these are important we often forget or don't realize that mental illness is among the number one cause of disability in our country costing nearly two hundred billion dollars in lost wages annually depression number one cause of disability worldwide suicide rates continue to climb among adults adolescents and even children every year we see the loss of celebrities and prominent figures to suicide the opioid crisis continues to devastate our communities costing over 100 billion dollars annually yet we're still not courageous enough to talk about mental illness why think back to shaking your neighbours hand think about some of the first thoughts that came to mind great dress cool shirt ah hope there isn't any more audience participation now how did your thoughts change when I mentioned that one of you may experience a mental illness even for the most open-minded judgement is a natural part of our human condition however when that judge escalate to discrimination prejudice even hostility it becomes a breeding ground for stigma stigma defined as a market disgrace as a result of stereotypes and misunderstandings in our society mental illness is stigmatized more than any other illness or condition we can see examples of stigma every single day and we might not even realize what stigma looks like read the news turn on the news scroll through social media overhear a conversation on the street or at work you are bound to hear an example of stigma you might not even realize it and those individuals that are stigmatized face barriers and obstacles to getting the help that they need and it creates a bigger burden of untreated mental illness for our society and our healthcare resources now some of this lies in a misunderstanding of psychiatric diagnosis the brain pretty cool but very complicated modern science has still only just begun to understand how this works let alone understanding what happens when there are issues with the brain functioning there are many many factors that contribute to the onset of mental illness biological environmental social genetic stress trauma we still don't quite understand the interplay of all of these in our brain unlike back injuries cancer diabetes we can't go get a scan we can't go get an x-ray we can't draw labs to diagnose mental illness we can't see mental illness in the brain therefore we have to rely on subjective reports and observations to get to a diagnosis for many people in our society this discounts the realness of mental illness you can't see it it must not be real right this also leads to a lot of misunderstandings that people witness and with mental illness can control it or snap out of it or those people who can't are weak or lazy or stupid or have other personality flaws we would never have these expectations of somebody with a broken leg or cancer now other stereotypes begin to form because of these misunderstandings the main one is fear we have become we have seen mental illness become synonymous with danger violence instability and aggression this isn't what mental illness really looks like yet this is the picture that's painted over and over again news media sensationalizes violent events often portraying those suspects as mentally ill homicidal maniacs movies television social media even video games all follow in line with these fearful representations of mental illness how many movie villains have mental illness think about it this leads our society to label and seek separation from individuals with mental illness causing them to feel stunned isolated fuelling their own self stigma and shame about their condition so we also see this lead to issues with employment opportunities housing options and even relationships and if these personal things aren't enough we can see these these false beliefs penetrate our legislature we can see policies come out that further barriers in place for people in need of help now we also can see this happen in our health care system many medical providers and health care professionals have these same false beliefs and these can carry over into the care that they provide patients with mental illness so those patients might not get the diagnostic testing or the interventions or those referrals that they might need because sometimes those medical providers think the symptoms are all in their head and on a larger scale sometimes we can see this stigma in the way that insurance companies cover or don't cover mental healthcare or psychiatric interventions with barriers like that it's no wonder that more than half of the adults that have mental illness never seek the treatment or care that they need now here's the thing mental health care works for every dollar that's invested in treating depression or anxiety we can see a yield of four dollars in health outcomes and ability to work that's a pretty good investment I don't do finances but I probably would want my four okay to look like that and people that do seek treatment for mental illness have good outcomes they get good symptom management we can even see remission you may not even realize how many successful people in our society have or continue to battle mental illness no there is a simple solution to this to breaking the cycle of stigma at least the first step if we as a community can talk about mental illness in a respectful and real way we can start to break that cycle education about what mental illness is and what it isn't can challenge people's misconceptions and stereotypes it can also begin to change people's misunderstandings on a personal level we can put aside our own prejudice and our own false beliefs and simply show empathy to those people and families that are dealing with mental illness it doesn't take much now if we as as a community as a society as individuals can start to see people with mental illness as people rather than their diagnosis we can take that first step to breaking that cycle and we will also start to see that people with mental illness aren't any different than you and I the first step is having that courageous conversation so isn't it time we stopped the stigma it may just start with a handshake thank you [Applause]

#Stop #Stigma #important #talk #Mental #Health #Heather #Sarkis #TEDxGainesville

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36 Comments
  1. No, dont talk about it!!! Take it from me. I was open about my complex background and the things that caused my cracks, confident that people wouldn't mis-judge me. It's back-fired every time. I was always stigmatized. I am no longer confident to be open and honest. Now i just play the game. IT WILL ALWAYS BE STIGMATIZED.

    Friends got tired of my honesty by saying "not good" to their "how are you?" They got tired of the negativity of my night terrors or bad days. They didnt understand my brain, body and epigenetics are complex. So now I'm "great" when they ask.

    Jobs saw me as a liability. Any time something went missing or there was a strange aroma, it was assumed i was always the culprit. HR knows the statistics. They know 9.5/10 times, it's the person with the 10 ACEs and don't ever give weight to that rare 0.5/10. If i didnt call out during an episode to display responsibility, my episodes were mis-judged as under the influence or a bad attitude. I was never able to hold a job longer than 2 years.

    Partners love me so hard and make promises of forever at the start. But once my illnesses come out to play, they play back and their ego adds fuel to the fire. Im forced to regulate myself during intense episodes of hormones and my brain misfiring. The stress makes the signals cross even more. Then, i am no longer lovable but punchable. And i get so intense that often times they do end up hitting me to control the intensity instead of walk away, ask questions or hold me. i think they all knew hitting me was the one thing that would break me enough and make me shut up and retreat.

    My parents saw me as disobedient for asking them to own up so i could move forward. When they gaslit me, they abandoned me too. Even if they created a monster, they took no accountability for all the thorns and horns i was forced to pluck and cut myself.

    Mental illness always left me hanging. So, i do love the sentiment of openness and destigmatization, but it isnt real life. You are on your own. But know you CAN make it. I did. I was supposed to be homeless, alone, miserable, institutionalized, drugged up or dead….but i'm not. All the cracks is how the light got in. I healed myself with writing and nature. Im still healing and I'm 44. But dont talk about it. In this world, after 44 years living in the reality of it, you wear your own cape. You are your own hero. And you can do it. If a piece of sh*t fu*k up like me made it…. ❤

  2. Such an important reminder! Taking time to rest and set boundaries is just as productive as working hard. I’ve learned that mindfulness and journaling help with stress management. What’s your favorite self-care ritual?

  3. Thank you for this powerful talk Heather, we miss you and want to always honor your mission to destigmatize mental illness.

  4. Great speach! She speaks the truth!

  5. All her speech is absolutely great, but her tone of voice makes me anxious ….it feels like she will cry or can't breathe…

  6. This facility Campus etc in Florida? Who knew!

  7. Ending the stigma starts with open conversations. Everyone deserves to feel heard. 🌱✨

  8. Dr. Nathan Chambers and his book "Grow Beyond" helped me a lot to truly get to know myself and overcome personal challenges. I would strongly reccomend to everyone.

  9. I dealt with depression years back and you couldn’t tell anyone for fear of being labeled crazy. It’s a far cry from crazy but people make you feel like a leper

  10. The current values in our society and the kind of negative vacuum that is created artificially and leads to mental illness.
    I had a breakthrough in understanding of many things after watching The documentary The IMPACT. I'd love to hear what Ms Heather thinks about this movie. So many factors that were never taken into consideration are described in detail there… Just shocking! The best documentary I've ever seen, heals my wounds and answers a lot of questions

  11. RIP Ms. Heather🥺 she helped me, personally ❤

  12. Even if You suffered from seasonal depression now completely cured! try to get a job those monsters will try to stigmatize you so you will get isolated and die IT IS SOCIETY'S FAULT

  13. Yeah, I do agree. Mental Health needs to talk more often and need the stigmatisation to stop. It also can kill many people who may are told that "you need to shut up and suffer that person's consequences". Is this a right approach??? I also believe the silent treatment needs to stop. There needs to be more open conversations to groups, and other places that need to have open discussions about what is happening in the family or just yourself or just wanting to talk openly about what is happening in your life without judging others.

    Matt

  14. Haven’t watched the speech and suspect it’s another overprivliged person discussing their anxiety and depression. Never OCD or schizophrenia. Also, the high rate of mental illness is based on big pharma .

  15. It’s crazy what’s stigmatized now and what isn’t, if you know what I mean.

  16. Preach sister, may the mental illed ones inherit justice pls cux im 1 of em

  17. I applaud her on the delivery of this speech! As someone who’s dealing with a mental illness, it’s great to see some light shed on how little people talk about it. ❤❤❤

  18. Remember that, eventually. everything is going to be alright. The battle against stigma will always be there.

  19. I can’t pay attention to what she’s saying because of the breathing and spit smacking😩

  20. Mental health either strengthens you or destroy you
    ❤❤ plz take care of ur mental state

  21. Meanwhile, words like crazy, insane, nuts, bonkers, lunatic….are among the most popular in our society!

  22. Every single psychiatric label stigmatizes the person being labeled and as long as we continue to use psychiatric labels (contained within the DSM) to describe behaviors, psychiatry will continue to profit while the public suffers. No psychiatric label, no billing insurance. No psychiatric label, no drug prescribed. So until we stop using these psychiatric labels, which mean nothing other than what some psychiatrists decided was a mental “illness,” we will never stop the “stigma.” The psychiatric labels are backed by corporate interests not medicine, and not science.

  23. Stop the stigma or stop those declaring it? Stop them they have done enough harm.

    Harold A Maio

  24. It is an interesting topic, thanks to Heather Sarkis for bringing this up. I agree with the speaker that mental health is very stigmatized in our society and honestly, I do not see how it can be changed soon. Mental health looks like an overly complicated issue because it would not be easy to simply “turn off” this stigma in the majority if not all people. I have many stigmas too that would not go away easily and unconsciously I still act on many of them.

    Heather Sarki brought good point I never thought about how much we bring this stigma to social media, TV, and movies, and misrepresent these horrifying relationships between mental illnesses and craziness, violence, and aggression. And it is hard to believe we are ever going to stop making these kinds of movies. It is sad that this is part of our entertainment while some people suffer watching it because they see themselves as “crazy monsters,” convinced that this is how other people see them. This is a misinterpretation of the issue and leads us to the wrong judgment of others, fear them and turn our backs on them. Everybody has the right to seek good health for themselves, but I understand why sometimes people would be afraid to go to the doctor and talk about their mental problems because they don’t want extra emotional pressure from feelings that the doctor might judge them.

    I am a second-year medical student, and we learned about how complicated the brain is. At the same time, science has stepped forward a great deal and most mental issues can be taken care of, now we can help people with various mental illnesses and give them hope to get their life back, improve their quality, and enjoy every moment of it. When doctors can show that they care with sincerity about patients' mental health and invite patients to be open and trustful, the patients can overcome their fear and be able to receive the care they need. Hopefully, their good examples can be shared with friends and family who also can get the courage to ask for help. And the same can be done with doctors, who can share their skills and experiences on how not to be judgmental and how to invite patients to be open.

    This is important that we address this issue because like the speaker said the number of cases does not become smaller, they are growing. I also liked the suggestion that we need to learn to look at the person and not accentuate our attention on their diagnosis, in the end, we are all not so different and we never know if or when a similar problem can happen to us, taking away from us our happy place.

  25. I want to thank Ms. Sarkis for her excellent talk on mental health stigma. While her video is almost three years old, it still pertains today and maybe even more vital after the COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout the last decade, we have made strides in normalizing self-care and good mental health practices. While er have made good strides and continue to improve, the stigma persists. Normalizing mental health is no longer enough, but we need to advance the education patients receive. Education for all patients, even those who do not think they have mental health issues, will encourage them to seek care if needed or even encourage family or friends that need help. Normalizing mental health in a cultural approach is no longer enough, and we need to normalize it in the standard of care. The education of all patients promotes the ethical principle of beneficence. As providers, we must actively provide avenues for our patients to access mental health services instead of looking past these issues. Increasing education is dependent on two key factors access and cost. Access and cost will continue to hamper the wide spread of mental health services because we need more providers and reimbursement from insurance companies. While both have seen improvement over the last few years, we must continue pushing for change at the state and national policy levels. Ultimately health care reform is the only real permanent change that will help increase the number of practicing providers as well as increase reimbursements for mental health services. We need to continue to break the stigma of mental health, as Ms. Sarkis suggests!

  26. Thank you MUM. This was well presented.

  27. I go to Colorado Technical University, and I have mental illness.

  28. It is easy to judge, difficult to understand

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