The Dangers of Labeling Mental Health

When I step on this stage, I don’t just bring words. I bring numbers—numbers that represent human lives.

Right now, nearly 1 in 5 adults in the United States live with a mental illness. That’s about 58 million people. And yet, according to the World Health Organization, more than 60% of them receive no treatment at all. Not because help doesn’t exist, but because stigma still builds higher walls than any diagnosis ever could.

Let me draw a comparison. If you’re diagnosed with high cholesterol, no one whispers about you in the break room. No one tells you to “just stop thinking about it.” No one questions whether you should have a job or raise a family. Instead, your doctor prescribes medication, advises diet changes, and insurance companies cover your treatment. It is seen as medical—because it is medical.

Now let’s talk about depression. The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that 8.3% of all U.S. adults experience a major depressive episode each year. That’s roughly 21 million people—a population the size of Florida. Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide. And untreated depression is linked to a 26-fold increase in suicide risk.

Yet here’s the problem: while cholesterol is treated with neutrality, depression is treated with suspicion. Labels like “anxious” or “depressed” become shorthand for “unreliable” or “weak.” The label that should unlock treatment instead locks doors. Employers hesitate. Friends distance themselves. Insurance companies quietly adjust premiums.

And the cost? The CDC estimates U.S. employers lose $44 billion each year in productivity due to untreated depression. Untreated anxiety and depression are not just personal struggles; they are economic earthquakes.

So let me ask you this: If we can treat high cholesterol with statins and lifestyle changes, why can’t we treat anxiety and depression with therapy and medication without attaching shame? Why can’t we allow a diagnosis to be a medical fact instead of a social sentence?

Because the real danger is not the diagnosis. The real danger is a society that weaponizes labels instead of using them as tools for healing.

Here’s what we know: treatment works. The WHO reports that with proper treatment, 70–90% of people with depression or anxiety see significant improvement. Imagine if those numbers were applied to cancer, heart disease, or diabetes—we would call it a medical miracle.

So why not demand the same for mental health?

The wolf does not fear the name others give it. The wolf fears a forest that refuses to listen to its howl.

And so I leave you with this challenge: Will we continue to let labels hinder lives, or will we build a society where those labels are no more dangerous than the word “cholesterol”?

- Adam Scott

Original Article published September 8, 2025