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Painting it purple

Brandon Sun, The (Manitoba, Canada) - 10/11/2014

Today is World Mental Health Day, and we're doing just our small part here to pitch in.

You'll have noticed that our front-page logo -- called the flag, in journalism lingo -- is tinted purple, as is the headline above.

We're going purple today along with many others, to bring awareness to the issue of mental health.

Unlike some other issues, mental health is something where lack of awareness is a critical issue, and where something as simple as getting people to notice, through a dramatic colour like purple, can do actual good.

While the state of one's physical health can be as obvious as a limp or a sneeze, matters of mental health are invisible. The struggles of depression, anxiety, mood disorders or psychological illnesses are no less real just because they aren't always obvious to outsiders.

That's especially troublesome because a strong social support structure is essential for mental health treatments, even more so than for physical ailments.

Over the past few years, there has been a welcome transformation in the willingness of society to discuss issues related to mental health. This has been in no small part thanks to courageous people who have come forward with frank talk about their own struggles.

Too often, though, difficulties with mental health are seen as a moral failing or a weakness. They are not.

They are illnesses like any other. Let purple remind you of that fact.