June 8, 2016 - Since 1949, May has been recognized as Mental Health Month, a month dedicated to spreading the word that mental health is something everyone should care about. This May, Mental Health America had established the theme "Life with a Mental Illness". They called on individuals to share what life with a mental illness feels like for them in words, pictures, and video by tagging their social media posts with ‪#‎mentalillnessfeelslike.

To get Reliance Health (formerly Reliance House) staff and members involved in this campaign, we asked that anyone who wanted to participate write what mental illness feels like for them. We posted these responses on Facebook. We also put them up in the windows at 40 Broadway and are now sharing these images here.

In order to break down discrimination and stigma surrounding mental illness we need to start talking about mental health and sharing how it feels to live with a mental illness. These statements demonstrate the unique and various ways mental illness effects those who participated in this campaign.