There's a mental health problem in the sense that people are so afraid of the stigma that they don't get help. But there's absolutely a gun control problem in the country.
Many politicians, celebrities, businessmen and women, and community leaders now are open about their struggles with mental illnesses, something almost unheard of when I began. Together, we are spreading the word that mental health affects all of us and deserves our support and attention.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Mental health struggles are now more openly discussed, highlighting the universal importance of supporting mental health.
In this quote, Rosalynn Carter emphasizes the significant shift in society's openness regarding mental health issues. She notes how public figures, such as politicians and celebrities, are increasingly sharing their own struggles, which fosters a collective awareness that mental health is a vital concern for everyone, deserving of support and focus. This marks a notable change from past attitudes, encouraging a dialogue that encompasses the challenges many face.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
During a mental health awareness seminar, this quote can be shared to highlight the importance of openness.
More from Rosalynn Carter
All quotes →A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don't necessarily want to go, but ought to be.
Aside from doing everything possible to provide programs for people who are seriously ill, I want to do everything humanly possible to help create a more caring society so that we can begin to counter the painful loneliness and sense of helplessness which has engulfed too many of our people.
Caregivers are the selfless people who provide unpaid care for loved ones who are ill or have serious medical conditions. This is among the most challenging work there is.
You must accept that you might fail; then, if you do your best and still don't win, at least you can be satisfied that you've tried. If you don't accept failure as a possibility, you don't set high goals, you don't branch out, you don't try - you don't take the risk.
People with mental problems are our neighbors. They are members of our congregations, members of our families; they are everywhere in this country. If we ignore their cries for help, we will be continuing to participate in the anguish from which those cries for help come. A problem of this magnitude will not go away. Because it will not go away, and because of our spiritual commitments, we are compelled to take action.
Similar quotes
You can't fix yourself out of a mental health issue. You can't wake up and say, 'Today I'm not being depressed!' It's a process to get well, but there is recovery.
One of things so bad about depression and bipolar disorder is that if you don't have prior awareness, you don't have any idea what hit you.
I went to a doctor and told him I felt normal on acid, that I was a light bulb in a world of moths. That is what the manic state is like.
I never felt like that before. Maybe it could be depression, like you get. I can understand how you suffer now when you're depressed; I always thought you liked it and I thought you could have snapped yourself out any time, if not alone then my means of the mood organ. But when you get that depressed you don't care. Apathy, because you've lose a sense of worth. It doesn't matter whether you feel better because you have no worth.
Never once, during any of my bouts of depression, had I been inclined or able to pick up a telephone and ask a friend for help. It wasn't in me.
When we are depressed, our thinking blocks us from being aware of our needs, and then being able to take action to meet our needs.