A study by the American Psychological Association in 2009
concluded that 68% of Americans were unwilling to have someone who is mentally ill marry into their family, and 38% of Americans were even unwilling to have a mentally ill neighbor. In recent years, we as a society have attempted to separate ourselves from such statistics, but it stigma still remains an unfortunate reality. A study by MentalHelp.net concluded that 18% of participants still agree that mentally ill people are just as dangerous as they are made out to be, and 26% of participants on top of that remained neutral on the subject. Given the fact that, as of 2019, 51.5 million adults in the US were living with a mental illness (National Alliance on Mental Illness), it is safe to say that stigma towards mentally ill people is not a harmless phenomenon. Children often throw around mental health terms that they do not know the meaning of (e.g., "psychotic," "bipolar," "OCD," "depressed," etc.) and therefore unknowingly perpetuate a dangerous stigma due. It is pertinent that the conflation between mental
illness and danger is reduced, for this idea simply discourages people who are struggling from seeking the help they need. Reducing this stigma begins with when children are educated and develop an understanding of psychopathology, facilitating a healthy
environment for mentally ill students, and, overall, a healthier world. Requiring such a course not only lessens the Floridian population's aversion towards mental illness, but also provides
insight into the struggles that peers may go through, promoting greater empathy and positivity as a whole.
I urge you to sign this petition, which will be presented to Florida State Commissioner for Education, Richard Corcoran, upon reaching the signature goal.
