Mental health is an issue that is often times stigmatized by society, which makes it much harder to get treatment. Whether it’s culture differences or disorder stereotypes, the results can be extremely damaging. However, these strong female mental health advocates are opening up the conversation.
Mental issues are not just affecting a certain category of people. According to Mental Health of America, the rate of youth with Major Depressive Episode (MDE) increased from 11.93% to 12.63%. There was only a 1.5% decrease in the rate of youth with MDE who did receive treatment. Data showed that 62% of youth with MDE received no treatment.
So whether you are going through depression, anxiety, body image, self-harm, or other mental illnesses, there are others just like you who go through the same issues. Here are a few mental health advocates who have opened up their platforms in support of mental health.
Suzy Favor Hamilton
Suzy Favor Hamilton is an Olympian and mental health advocate for sex positivity. However, she was once publicly shamed for being a Las Vegas escort. Instead of running from it, she embraced it. Not only is she embracing her sexual side, she is also coaching other women to be their true selves and feel good about sexual expression.
“For me, it was being fortunate to have been referred to an amazing therapist. I had issues with body image, sexual shame, mental health stigma, etc. She eventually got it into my head that I was falling into the trap of caring too much what others thought and what I thought I needed to do and be to fit into society. She emphasized that I was good enough. And how important it would be moving forward to be my truest self.
If I’m a sexual woman, so be it. Own it and embrace it. If I live with mental illness, ok. Own it, embrace it, and work my ass off to manage it, and to hell with the ignorance of others. I realized the problem wasn’t so much me, but some of society that places stigmas, judgments, and unrealistic expectations on us to the point of never feeling like we are enough.
I’ve realized through that lesson the importance of being my truest self. How empowering and freeing that can be. I’ve learned to not care what others think and I find that when I’m myself I attract the right people into my life and weed out the noise.”
On Suzy’s Instagram, you can see she has shed the negativity and is fully living life how she wants to. As a result, she is an inspiration to women around the world. Many of Suzy’s captions are stories from her life including how she is able to get past the shame put on her by the media. Today, she is coaching women on being proud of who they are.
Alison Mariella Désir-Figueroa
Alison Mariella Désir-Figueroa is raising awareness for anxiety and depression in people of color. Alison is an entrepreneur, athlete, activist, and mental health counselor. Through her work in advocacy, she is determined to normalize the mental health conversation and erase the stigmas that come along with it.
Alison’s Instagram features her life as an athlete, as well as her journey supporting mental health. She also offers workshops that discusses mental health counseling, issues on identity, and social justice.
Danielle Molon
Danielle Molon is a bulimia survivor and is inspiring others through their own recovery. Because of her personal experience, she encourages others to take control of their body dysmorphia and do away with poor health habits that can lead to possible death.
Danielle’s message is clear. She reinforces the fact that an eating disorder is a mental disorder. As a result, her Instagram feed is flooded with reminders and inspiration that you are beautiful the way you are and losing weight is not a part of the equation.
Jen Gotch
Jen Gotch teaches women that it is okay to talk about your feelings…even on your bad days. She opened her own shop called Ban.do with products that have an optimistic and emotionally-resonant tone. And, through her platforms, she hopes to erase the stigma against openly discussing mental health and normalizing the conversation through her stories.
Jen openly talks about her own anxiety and depression on her Instagram and encourages you to do the same. Her feed is filled with smiles, but also posts about how she’s really feeling. Jen rates her days from 1-10, with days where she is feeling great and others where she’s just feeling really low.
Dani DiPirro
Dani DiPirro is an author, blogger, and designer who promotes living a positive and present life. She gives insight on personal development and self-care. Her Instagram has tips on becoming more positive and living in the moment. Other topics include positive personal development and how to share positivity with others. Dani also gives resources and inspiration for being positively present.
Dani has a very colorful Instagram showcasing illustrations, typography, and design. In addition, the message behind each post is always focused on self-love. She reinforces her passion for art by sharing a message that anyone can get behind.
Megan Jayne Crabbe
Megan Jayne Crabbe is a blogger and body positive Instagrammer. She focuses on intuitive eating, bikini body confidence, fatphobia and size prejudice. She gives detailed reasons why the diet industry is bullshit. Megan is also the author of Body Positive Power, where she goes into detail on discovering happiness by loving your body.
You’ll find that Megan’s Instagram posts are bright and colorful. Her content is filled with positive messages on finding self worth, no matter your size. As a mental health advocate, she teaches women that they don’t have to be a size 2 in order to fit in with the world and tells her own stories of when she is fighting her own battles with her body.
Gina Susanna
Gina Susanna is a blogger and Instagrammer who promotes body positivity. In addition, Gina is an eating disorder survivor who uses her online platforms to promote healthy eating habits. She encourages her followers to find beauty in their own skin. Her feed is filled with inspirational quotes, her road to recovery, and self-care.
In an interview with Refinery29, Gina discussed how vacation diets are not only ruining our bodies, but also the actual vacation itself. “I KNOW those feelings so well,” she told Refinery29. “And I was just so sick of the constant diet culture voices telling me I needed to ‘look perfect’ to enjoy myself.”