There are lots of stereotypes and generalizations present in the world. We all know that these stereotypes are not indicative of an entire group of people their ideals or their way of doing things. If we know this, why do we not educate ourselves? We live in a culture trying to correct civil rights, yet we are still placing social stigmas on conditions such as mental illness.

This year the Academy nominated the motion picture Silver Linings Playbook for the best film of 2012. This film explores the idea of mental illness and is based off the novel written by Matthew Quick. The author expressed that his intent in writing this novel was to discover the beauty in silver linings and to create a vehicle through which people could easily speak out about the difficulties of mental illnesses.

There is such a strong stigma associated with being mentally ill that people are scared to admit they have these problems and get the help they need. People flooded author Matthew Quick, director David O. Russell, leading actor Bradley Cooper and leading actress Jennifer Lawrence with thank you mail. Thousands of people with mental illnesses have come forward and expressed appreciation for making their problems relatable and understandable in popular culture.

In 1975, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest starring Jack Nicholson, also challenged the social stigma that defiled mental illness. This film made the comment that the institution meant to help patients facing mental disorders was the very thing that could drive a sane person mad. This film argues that doctors and people treat mental patients as if they were men of another species, as though they do not share the same heart, mind and feelings.

It is easy to develop stereotypes about things you remain uneducated about. It is even easier to assume you know what you possibly cannot. Mental illness is a very applicable situation that demonstrates stereotypes can have disastrous effects. A person is a person regardless of skin color, hair color, shape or size. This is something we have figured out over centuries of trial and error. Mental illness does not make someone any less human than red hair does; it simply means their brain functions differently. Reach out and let someone know you accept them just the way they are. Make the world a more enlightened place by being educated and understanding of people for who they are.