COLLECTIVE INSANITY in the 21st Century... the new normal! So much madness, so much stress, so many people in emotional pain, so many struggling relationships, an overwhelming amount of technological advances that allow more and more to isolate, moving us away from community and fellowship. It's a miracle even more don't suffer from DEPRESSION or have other mental health issues.

BRAVO to Chiara, New York City's first daughter for putting a face on depression.

The 19-year old college student is poignant when she steps forward and reminds all of us that DEPRESSION is a disease, that cognitive or mood problems are biologically based. There's no shame in anyone's game for seeking treatment. It's a right and an essential need for a humane and just society. Unfortunately, when the federal government shifted responsibility for the "mentally ill" to the states in the late 1980s, patients without medical insurance were largely neglected. Even now it is clear that the general public tends to be more supportive of social security policy than it is of mental health policy. Yet, the fabric of our society demands parity of treatment for those who have illnesses above the neck, as well as those who struggle with physical illness in the rest of the body.

Bravo to Chiara for speaking out, first in December 2013 and more recently in an essay in xoJane.