I find it hard to believe that there is such little awareness/ understanding about mental illness when there is a statistic that 1 in 4 people at some point in their lives will encounter some form of MI. Perhaps because the status quo has been to keep it hush hush and on the down-low, that's how it's going to continue being unless there is some huge spark/ revolution such as the gay rights movement. The problem is, most people aren't exactly well..proud of declaring "I have XYZ Disorder." The label itself "Disorder" just sounds unappealing. What's interesting though is that someone who confides that they have cancer will get much more sympathy than someone admitting they have depression. People simply don't know how to react. They get quiet and are not sure what to say. Even when my sister tries to tell me she knows her friend is depressed, every time she says that dreadful word she whispers it. "You know my friend who is *whisper* depressed?" YES, I do know and stop whispering it like it's something tainted. God forbid. You already know her situation and why she is extremely depressed, it's not something to be ashamed of, but people do a 180degree turn once they find out and try not to talk about it or think about it. It makes us inflicted with it feel ashamed for even having any mental illness. It is saddening, but until the majority of people are willing to embrace other peoples faults (even though this is not even a fault but labeling something as a disorder or as an illness just makes it sound like a flaw or something is wrong or not normal) there is not going to be much advancement in awareness or acceptance of those with MI.