Brain & Behavior Research Foundation Mental Health Awareness Month ‘Know Science. No Stigma.” Effort Uses Science to Debunk Mental Illness Myths and Fight Stigma
Newswise — The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (formerly NARSAD) took a first-of-its-kind approach to building awareness during Mental Health Awareness Month (May 2013) by reaching out to the public with science-based social media messages to encourage people to speak out openly about mental health issues, combat stigma and support mental illness research. The Foundation’s theme and slogan for the effort, “Know Science. No Stigma.,” appeared in messages that have been shared widely, spurred healthy dialog and attracted hundreds of new Facebook fans and Twitter followers to the Foundation's social media platforms. Many of the featured messages include discoveries by Brain & Behavior Research Foundation NARSAD Grantees and Scientific Council members highlighting the biological underpinnings of mental illness to debunk the myths that suggest brain and behavior disorders are not bona fide illnesses.
“Myths about mental illness—and the stigma they can create—often keep people from getting the help they need to lead full, productive and happy lives,” says Laura Wells, Vice President of Marketing & Communications, Brain & Behavior Research Foundation. “As a charity that has funded cutting-edge research projects to understand, treat and ultimately prevent and cure mental illness since the 1980s, the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation is uniquely suited to share scientific discoveries that disprove mental illness myths.” The Foundation has raised nearly $300 million in private funds since 1987 and invested it into more than 4,000 research grants for a broad range of mental illnesses, including depression, schizophrenia, anxiety and bipolar, attention-deficit hyperactivity, obsessive-compulsive and post-traumatic stress disorders.
The first message for the awareness effort featured a quote by Eric R. Kandel, M.D., a Nobel Prizewinner, Foundation Scientific Council Member and NARSAD Grantee who said: “All mental processes are brain processes, and therefore all disorders of mental functioning are biological diseases…Schizophrenia is a disease like pneumonia. Seeing it as a brain disorder de-stigmatizes it immediately.” Much of the information shared in the awareness drive is drawn from studies funded by the Foundation, made possible through private contributions from the general public – 100% of contributions for research are invested in Foundation NARSAD Grants.
The May effort by the Foundation underscores the idea that if people speak up about brain disorders as illnesses to be treated, we will progress on the road toward conquering mental illness. The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation is committed to that and invites the public to join the cause and share the messages through Twitter, Facebook, and other channels. The page containing the latest material to share and links to YouTube videos is http://bbrfoundation.org/mental-health-awareness-month and an archive of messages is found at http://bbrfoundation.org/know-science-archive. On Twitter the Foundation is found at https://twitter.com/BBRFoundation and uses the handle @BBRFoundation and hash tag #4BrainResearch. On Facebook, the Foundation is found at https://www.facebook.com/bbrfoundation. In addition to the graphics containing the scientific discoveries, the Foundation is sharing facts, videos and statistics related to mental illness research and stories of recovery throughout May.
For more information about the social media effort, please contact Sally Corbett, Director, Public Relations & Communications at [email protected].
RSS