Mental health taking center stage in pop culture

[0:00]What happened? All of a sudden I feel like I know better than everyone else. Millennials get blamed for a lot of things. We are apparently lazy, entitled and don't know how to hold a job. Why are you so negative? But one thing we're great at, accepting people for who they are, and that includes mental illness. While the argument can be made that social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook can harm our mental health, open discussions of things like depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder are everywhere in pop culture. So I've got this thing in my life, I call low self-esteem and anxiety. Give you a show you've got low self-esteem and anxiety. Okay. So the question is, have Millennials impacted a cultural shift in the acceptance of mental illness? That seems to be the case. Mental health has taken center stage in the world of pop culture. It seems everywhere we look, people are having open and honest conversations about the struggles they face. You can see the shift happening in television shows. I'm about to tell you the story of my life. More specifically, why my life ended. And in music. I want you to be alive. I want you to be alive. on social media and in sound bites from celebrities. the more that you're vocal for yourself and also others, the more that people can help you. That's why it's so important that you speak up. Even the royal family has encouraged people to speak up about their mental health challenges. Mental health challenges are not a life sentence. Speak to your colleagues about how you cope with stress. More and more shows are tackling mental health issues that are prevalent in communities across the country. NBC's hugely popular show This Is Us touched on addiction and grief. And he tries so hard to be strong, and he needs pain pills to get through it. Netflix's hit comedy The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt features a main character dealing with severe PTSD, but still making the best of life. How awesome is this place? Even though they don't have recess. Which is fine. It's fine. Recess is for babies. And in Homeland, actress Claire Danes plays a CIA agent with bipolar disorder in what many critics have called the most accurate depiction of the condition on TV. I'm gonna get you a bit more at a van to settle you. I don't need to settle down. Tell him. Pop culture is changing the way we talk about mental health and starting conversations that can have life-changing effects. I-I would... like... to eat here. May I take your order?