Sonia can’t get out of bed.
In the background her alarm is still going off, reminding her she’s running behind. She feels mentally and physically exhausted, yet still tries to get out of bed. Sonia can’t help but feel like a failure. Her house is in shambles, she hasn’t showered in a week, and she just knows her boss is going to grill her when she shows up late.
Sonia thinks she has depression, but doesn’t want to let anyone know. She knows her friends would say she’s just lazy, or her family would call it a cry for attention.
So she continues, day after day, silently struggling.
Why don’t people like Sonia feel comfortable reaching out for help? Why is it such a taboo to talk about mental illness?
Depression gets a bad rap. Mental illness, in general, is still stigmatized, no matter where you are in the world. Societies like to label depression as a plea for attention, a dramatic fit, or laziness. Others label depressives as dangerous, while others completely reject the existence of depression. These negative stereotypes and false information don’t serve anyone. They prevent people with depression from reaching out for help.
The biggest hurdle for mental health isn’t just access to funding or treatment: it’s PR. Mental health advocates are on a mission to erase the negative, persistent stigma around depression.
Fortunately, advocates like Kathryn Goetzke are changing the public perception of depression.
Kathryn Goetzke and iFred
Kathryn Goetzke is the Chief Mood Officer at The Mood Factory, where she ‘improves moods’ by engaging consumer senses. With an MBA in International Marketing, an undergraduate degree in Psychology, and 20 years of experience, Kathryn is no stranger to the science of emotions.
She founded the International Foundation for Research and Education on Depression, or iFred, to put her experience to work for the greater good. She partnered up with scientists and activists across the globe to make iFred a reality. The foundation uses education, research, and treatment to stop depression at its source while fighting stigma.
What’s difficult about depression is that it doesn’t discriminate. It can happen to anyone at any time in their lives. In fact, depression is present in at least 2 percent of children and up to 8 percent of teenagers, although the numbers are likely higher.
Depression affects everyone, but so few people feel like they can open up about their condition. Kathryn wanted to move depression and mental health from being a hush-hush topic to something everyone feels comfortable addressing.
To do that, she needed to rebrand depression.
Erasing the stigma of depression
Through iFred, Kathryn is shifting the public perception of depression in three ways.
1. Positive imagery
The first key to rebranding is choosing imagery that fits your desired image. According to Neuroscience Marketing, Humans rely on imagery to process information and form opinions. If you want to persuade society at large to change their tone, there’s no better place to start than updating imagery.
Many mental health organizations and the media use dark imagery, like rain clouds, to visualize depression. Kathryn argues that these images feed in to negative stereotypes around depression. When she created iFred, the first thing she did was choose an upbeat, hopeful icon: the sunflower.
Kathryn is working to make the sunflower the international symbol of hope for depression.
Why? Sunflowers are yellow, the color of joy. Sunflowers grow facing the sun, reminding those with depression to seek light instead of hiding in darkness during a depressive episode. They symbolize the fact that depression can be treated, and that there is hope.
The sunflower isn’t just the symbol for iFred. Kathryn has partnered with other mental health nonprofits to spread hope with positive imagery. This is leading to a shift in the way mental health advocates present depression, creating a positive tone in the conversation surrounding depression.
Just as pink ribbons symbolize Breast Cancer Awareness, the yellow sunflower is becoming a symbol of strength and hope to those living with depression.
2. Celebrity/influencer engagement
Kathryn wanted to make honest conversations about mental health “cool” again. Through iFred she teamed up with celebrities and influencers across the globe. Influencers posted on social media and on their blogs about their honest journeys to wellness with depression.
These endorsements worked because of two main factors. First, Kathryn was able to leverage existing social networks through celebrity endorsements. Second, these wide-reaching celebrity posts changed the conversation around depression. Instead of focusing on their symptoms and how much they were suffering, the influencers instead focused on their overall outcome, coping mechanisms, and how to embrace light in their lives.
3. Brain education
As part of rebranding depression, Kathryn also has to fight against incorrect statements, especially in our WebMD-crazed internet age. She partnered with reputable research foundations, other mental health organizations, and scientists to spread the facts about depression.
Together they work to conduct research on the nature of depression. They publish papers and also share important takeaways from this research through blogs and social media. The content touches on the realities of brain biology from qualified doctors and researchers to highlight what actually causes depression. It’s fighting against non-scientific fear mongering that can be prevalent online. Only through fighting misinformation can we stem the tide of negativity against those with depression.
The bottom line
Thanks to Kathryn Goetzke’s work with iFred, the conversation around depression is changing. It’s no longer seen as a dark cloud that haunts depressives, but as a symbol of hope and transformation. Word by word, Kathryn is literally changing lives across the globe.
