Have you ever been close to someone who was diagnosed with cancer, heart disease, or even AIDS? Do you remember how badly you felt and how you wondered why it had to happen to them? Your heart went out to them, and you knew that even though they had a medical problem, they were still the same individual and no less a person. You treated them with the same respect and dignity that any person deserved. This is the way people with health problems are usually treated in today's society - unless that problem is a mental illness.

Mental illness has become more and more common and many people are affected by different forms of mental illness. It is quite likely that someone in your family has some sort of mental illness. Maybe one of your grandparents has Alzheimer's, or your uncle has schizophrenia. Have you noticed how in today's society people who have any type of mental problems are looked down on? They're treated as stupid or strange. They're the outcasts.

I think that it's sad that we as a people see ourselves as better than someone who happens to have a mental disorder. It is in no way, shape or form their fault that they're the way they are. Yet we shun them and laugh and joke about their differences. I think it is time we decide to make a change and embrace these people with the same respect we give others affected by disease. ?