Today is #WorldMentalHealthDay. Over these past years, you’ve seen many influential people open up publicly about their mental illness and struggles. It’s been my mission for the past 40 years as a Psychiatrist to change the discussion from mental health to brain health. The stigma associated with mental illness prevents many people from getting help; fewer than half of those who suffer from mental health problems ever seek help. People do not want to be seen as crazy, stupid, or defective, and they often don’t seek help until they (or their loved one) can no longer tolerate the pain (at work, in their relationships, or within themselves). What if we re-imagined mental health as brain health? What if mental health problems were evaluated and treated like other medical issues, and physicians were using functional imaging tools, genetics, and other markers to guide treatment? Currently, doctors prescribe psychotherapy or powerful combinations of medications without ever looking at how an individual patient’s brain works. When it comes to behavior, learning or emotional problems, doctors prescribe treatments in the dark. Today, let us all continue to communicate, change the conversation and end the stigma. You matter. You are not alone. Please share this to your story or tag someone who needs to see this today. #worldmentalhealthday #mentalhealth #brainhealth #mentalhealthmatters Imaging changes everything. After looking at nearly 150,000 brain scans on patients from 120 countries, we know that when physicians don’t look at how the brain functions, they guess at what is wrong, and that can hurt their patients. Without imaging, physicians miss important causes of trouble, such as brain injuries, toxic exposure, and infections. People end up misdiagnosed and on the wrong treatments.