Imagine explaining to a senior official in government—or any large health organization—that they could prevent and treat a whole category of diseases that cause more disability than any other, that kills significant numbers of people, and prevents people from seeking help for other diseases—and that they could mostly do this through local nonprofessional workers, without medications and equipment. 

Now picture that person’s eyes glaze over with disinterest. That’s what it’s like being a mental health advocate. 

Our entire society, including our leaders, has a blind spot when it comes to mental health. The stigma suffered by people with mental illness extends to the whole field, making it a low-priority issue always superseded by other public health issues and resistant to data-based arguments—even among those who consider themselves data driven. What are those data? 

A third of all global disability is due to mental and neurological diseases. When we think of disability, we think of someone with a missing limb or other mobility problem—but a more representative image would be someone with their heads in their hands.