Suggestions for Media Coverage:

Promote the idea that there is no good health without good mental health; the integration of body and mind.

• Schools and the medical community together, should promote the concept of overall wellness as including both mental and physical health. If your story includes schools or medical communities, consider integrating mental illness into the regular promotion of physical wellness by teaching individuals how to identify the signs of mental illness and where to go for help.
• Mental illness is not just psychological, it is a physical condition that can be linked back to the function of brain systems; just as hypertension is linked back to the functioning of the cardiac system. When covering mental illness in your stories remember to portray it as you would any other physical condition and the treatment of mental illness as a step to overall health.
• Remember to include that there many effective treatments for mental illness and most people with mental health problems can be helped with professional intervention. As with all illnesses it is important to reduce uncertainty about treatment in order to encourage your audience to seek it out, consider ways to include professional interventions and methods of treatment into your stories about mental health.