Fighting Mental Health Stigma

Are Americans underestimating their mental health struggles? A new study from CVS Health and Harris Poll found that nearly three in four Americans describe their mental health as “excellent” or “good,” and only one in 10 say their mental health has gotten worse in the last year. Yet nearly 60% of physicians report declining mental health among their patients. Why aren’t more people willing to talk about their feelings of anxiety, sadness, or the “blues”? In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, we present a special episode from LinkedIn’s Anxious Achiever podcast featuring, Cara McNulty, President, Behavioral Health and Mental Well-being at CVS Health. “Mental well-being is part of our physical well-being, which is a part of our total well-being,” says Cara. “Instead of trying to pretend that our head is not attached to our bodies, let's reframe how we talk about mental well-being.” 

In the interview with host Morra Aarons-Mele, Cara traces her career path as a population scientist along with her personal and professional experience with mental health. Cara and Morra open up about their mental health challenges as mothers and talk about the persistent myths around mental illness in our culture and health care system.   “Mental illness just means a chronic condition that you're dealing with like schizophrenia, like bipolar,: explains Cara. “That doesn't mean you're broken. … We don't tell people who have colon cancer that they're broken.”

Learn more 

• Mental health awareness guide for young adults (PDF)
• Mental health awareness guide for parents and caregivers (PDF)
• LinkedIn Presents: The Anxious Achiever