Stigma can be damaging to the 1 in 5 people with a mental illness. Find out how you can help.

It is so easy to pass labels around. The barista with the strange hairdo is a weirdo, the classmate we sat next to in English 101 is a nut-job for reminding the professor we have homework. The man talking to himself and dancing on the corner is a schizo. The girl who cannot sit still in your daughter's classroom is a spazz. These labels are freely passed around, but they can be truly damaging and can diminish the seriousness of someone's mental disorder.

When stigma becomes entrenched in a person, family and community it may prevent someone from seeking life-saving help, may lead to lack of empathy for those afflicted and could eventually lead to isolation, deter someone from getting needed help and even lead to violence, homelessness and death in extreme cases.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness states, "only 41% of adults with a mental condition received mental health services in the past year. Among adults with a serious mental illness, 62.9% received mental health services in the past year."

The people with a diagnosis of a mental illness may be hidden among us. It is important to remember that these are people with a diagnosis of a mental illness instead of letting the mental illness define them. In other words people are not a schizophrenic. Those diagnosed with mental illness are first and foremost people with an illness who can get better with proper treatment. That may mean different things for each person. It is important to find a therapist who will work with you, as opposed to dictating treatment to you, to find the best interventions to fit your needs.

or more information go to the National Alliance on Mental Illness website and take the stigma-free pledge.