May is National Mental Health Month, but who is "minding the store" during the remaining 11 months of the year? Sadly, we don't need to look far: the recent federal data on surging suicide rates makes it clear we have a lot more work to do to help ailing minds. The greatest obstacle is the stigma that prevents us from having an honest conversation about mental illness — its underlying causes, effective programs and treatments independent of pharmaceutical and insurance industry influence, promising research, and the responsibilities of patients, families, local, state and federal stakeholders. Speaking of stigma, how many of you remember the game of Cootie Bug? Stigma is...
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