---
title: Using the Stage to Combat Mental Health Stigma
description: Learn how the power of vulnerability lies in the simple fact that our stories can impact others on the path to mental health recovery. By using our voices to share our stories, this big, scary world becomes smaller and more easily conquerable.
image: https://blog.webrtc.ventures/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Using-the-Stage-to-Combat-Mental-Health-Stigma.png
---

[Skip to content](https://blog.webrtc.ventures/2018/11/using-the-stage-to-combat-mental-health-stigma#main-content)

![WebRTC.ventures](https://blog.webrtc.ventures/hubfs/logo-main-light.svg)

- [WebRTC Services](https://webrtc.ventures/webrtc-development-services/)
  
  Show submenu for WebRTC Services 
  
    - [Assess](https://webrtc.ventures/services/assess/)
    - [Build](https://webrtc.ventures/services/build/)
    - [Integrate](https://webrtc.ventures/services/integrate/)
    - [Test](https://webrtc.ventures/services/test/)
    - [Manage](https://webrtc.ventures/services/manage/)
    - [Migrating From Twilio Video](https://webrtc.ventures/twilio-video/)
- Our Partners
  
  Show submenu for Our Partners 
  
    - [Amazon Chime SDK](https://webrtc.ventures/partners/amazon-chime-sdk/)
- Stories of Success
  
  Show submenu for Stories of Success 
  
    - [Remote Video Interpreting Platform with Agent Routing](https://webrtc.ventures/successes/remote-video-translation-platform/)
    - [WebRTC to SIP Gateway for ASL Interpreters](https://webrtc.ventures/successes/webrtc-to-sip-gateway-for-asl-interpreters/)
    - [Audio Listening Device to Improve Surgical Outcomes](https://webrtc.ventures/successes/audio-listening-device-to-improve-surgical-outcomes/)
    - [Albania’s First Telemedicine Platform](https://webrtc.ventures/successes/albanias-first-telemedicine-platform/)
    - [Automated Video Storytelling with the Amazon Chime SDK](https://webrtc.ventures/successes/automated-video-storytelling-with-the-amazon-chime-sdk/)
    - [Large Scale Video Conferencing](https://webrtc.ventures/successes/large-scale-video-conferencing/)
    - [Broadcasting and Webcast Control Room](https://webrtc.ventures/successes/live-video-broadcasting-and-webcast-control-room/)
- WebRTC Resources
  
  Show submenu for WebRTC Resources 
  
    - [WebRTC Live](https://webrtc.ventures/webrtc-live/)
    - [WebRTC Tips](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLayYqdnyegt3QvxX-Rt6wbFIK8727Z5Oz)
    - [WebRTC.ventures Blog](https://webrtc.ventures/blog/)
    - [Migrating From Twilio Video](https://webrtc.ventures/twilio-video/)
    - [WebRTC.ventures Training Program](https://webrtc.ventures/webrtc-ventures-training-program/)
- [About Us](https://webrtc.ventures/our-team/)
  
  Show submenu for About Us 
  
    - [Blog](https://webrtc.ventures/blog/)
    - [Our Team](https://webrtc.ventures/our-team/)
    - [Jobs](https://webrtc.ventures/jobs/)

Open main navigation

Close main navigation

- [WebRTC Services](https://webrtc.ventures/webrtc-development-services/)
  
  Show submenu for WebRTC Services 
  
    - [Assess](https://webrtc.ventures/services/assess/)
    - [Build](https://webrtc.ventures/services/build/)
    - [Integrate](https://webrtc.ventures/services/integrate/)
    - [Test](https://webrtc.ventures/services/test/)
    - [Manage](https://webrtc.ventures/services/manage/)
    - [Migrating From Twilio Video](https://webrtc.ventures/twilio-video/)
- Our Partners
  
  Show submenu for Our Partners 
  
    - [Amazon Chime SDK](https://webrtc.ventures/partners/amazon-chime-sdk/)
- Stories of Success
  
  Show submenu for Stories of Success 
  
    - [Remote Video Interpreting Platform with Agent Routing](https://webrtc.ventures/successes/remote-video-translation-platform/)
    - [WebRTC to SIP Gateway for ASL Interpreters](https://webrtc.ventures/successes/webrtc-to-sip-gateway-for-asl-interpreters/)
    - [Audio Listening Device to Improve Surgical Outcomes](https://webrtc.ventures/successes/audio-listening-device-to-improve-surgical-outcomes/)
    - [Albania’s First Telemedicine Platform](https://webrtc.ventures/successes/albanias-first-telemedicine-platform/)
    - [Automated Video Storytelling with the Amazon Chime SDK](https://webrtc.ventures/successes/automated-video-storytelling-with-the-amazon-chime-sdk/)
    - [Large Scale Video Conferencing](https://webrtc.ventures/successes/large-scale-video-conferencing/)
    - [Broadcasting and Webcast Control Room](https://webrtc.ventures/successes/live-video-broadcasting-and-webcast-control-room/)
- WebRTC Resources
  
  Show submenu for WebRTC Resources 
  
    - [WebRTC Live](https://webrtc.ventures/webrtc-live/)
    - [WebRTC Tips](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLayYqdnyegt3QvxX-Rt6wbFIK8727Z5Oz)
    - [WebRTC.ventures Blog](https://webrtc.ventures/blog/)
    - [Migrating From Twilio Video](https://webrtc.ventures/twilio-video/)
    - [WebRTC.ventures Training Program](https://webrtc.ventures/webrtc-ventures-training-program/)
- [About Us](https://webrtc.ventures/our-team/)
  
  Show submenu for About Us 
  
    - [Blog](https://webrtc.ventures/blog/)
    - [Our Team](https://webrtc.ventures/our-team/)
    - [Jobs](https://webrtc.ventures/jobs/)
- [Contact us](https://webrtc.ventures/contact/)

[Contact us](https://webrtc.ventures/contact/)

 Nov 13, 2018 12:00:00 AM

# Using the Stage to Combat Mental Health Stigma

[Paige Long](https://blog.webrtc.ventures/author/paige-long)

Share: [linkedin-in icon](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://blog.webrtc.ventures/2018/11/using-the-stage-to-combat-mental-health-stigma) [X Twitter icon](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://blog.webrtc.ventures/2018/11/using-the-stage-to-combat-mental-health-stigma) [envelope icon](mailto:?body=https://blog.webrtc.ventures/2018/11/using-the-stage-to-combat-mental-health-stigma)

Last week, I returned to my [alma mater](http://cnu.edu/) to participate in SpeakCNU, an annual TED Talk-style event that allows students, staff, and alumni to share their ideas and experiences with the campus community. This year’s SpeakCNU topic was **the power of vulnerability**. As soon as I saw the topic, I heard that stage calling my name. Here was my opportunity to [speak with current students about mental health](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1z4cvZRi5A7Ii-yWtUibIYKoLwAwpQBch/view?usp=sharing).

I am often asked how and why I became a mental health advocate.

When I transferred to my alma mater three years ago, I learned that many of my new lifelong friends were experiencing mental health challenges similar to my own. **Regardless of diagnosis or lack thereof, each of us was intimately familiar with the relentless grip of stigma and the maze-like design of the mental health care system.**

**If we hadn’t been vulnerable with one another, we would have continued thinking we were alone** in our paths of mental health recovery. **The power of vulnerability lies in the simple fact that our stories can impact others**. By using our voices to share our stories, this big, scary world becomes smaller and more easily conquerable. We have no idea how profoundly we can change another life until we muster the courage to become vulnerable.

This is where my passion lies. In sharing my own mental health challenges and experiences navigating our complex mental health care system, I can provide hope and support to others. This is why I have been an outspoken mental health advocate for the past three years, and why I will be an advocate for this community — *my* community — for the rest of my life.

Several **gaps in the mental health care system**, including ones that my friends and I have experienced, can be **filled by** **UniWellness**.

**UniWellness allows students to meet with their mental health providers back home even when they are hours away at college**.

**UniWellness helps individuals with life-limiting conditions like depression and agoraphobia receive mental health treatment from the safety and comfort of their own homes**.

**UniWellness provides a way to seek treatment without feeling the stigma of physically entering a counseling center or private practice**.

**UniWellness equips individuals in rural areas with access to care even when they do not have reliable transportation or live hundreds of miles away from the nearest mental health provider**.

It is gaps like these that countless individuals fall into every day.

It is the vision of filling these gaps that led me to join the webRTC.ventures team, who have been nothing but supportive of me, my ideas, and my advocacy work since I arrived two months ago.

It is the filling of these gaps with UniWellness that gives me hope for people like me to access the life-saving care they need to live productive, fulfilling lives despite their mental health conditions.

**Can UniWellness help your college or university serve more students? Learn more Today!**

UniWellness is an [already-built platform](https://webrtc.ventures/licensed-expert-consultation-platform-under-your-label-brand/).  It can be quickly licensed, branded with your school’s logo and customized with features most important to you.  **[Contact us](https://webrtc.ventures/contact/)** to learn more and determine if UniWellness could work for you and your students.

[CPaaS](https://blog.webrtc.ventures/tag/cpaas), [Managed Services](https://blog.webrtc.ventures/tag/managed-services), [Events](https://blog.webrtc.ventures/tag/events), [Video Conferencing](https://blog.webrtc.ventures/tag/video-conferencing), [Real Time Weekly](https://blog.webrtc.ventures/tag/real-time-weekly), [WebRTC Architecture](https://blog.webrtc.ventures/tag/webrtc-architecture), [Broadcasting](https://blog.webrtc.ventures/tag/broadcasting), [Medical](https://blog.webrtc.ventures/tag/medical), [WebRTC Live](https://blog.webrtc.ventures/tag/webrtc-live), [Showcase](https://blog.webrtc.ventures/tag/showcase), [Thoughts](https://blog.webrtc.ventures/tag/thoughts), [Vonage](https://blog.webrtc.ventures/tag/vonage), [Daily](https://blog.webrtc.ventures/tag/daily), [Jobs](https://blog.webrtc.ventures/tag/jobs), [Contact Centers](https://blog.webrtc.ventures/tag/contact-centers), [Telehealth](https://blog.webrtc.ventures/tag/telehealth), [Education](https://blog.webrtc.ventures/tag/education), [Technical](https://blog.webrtc.ventures/tag/technical), [General](https://blog.webrtc.ventures/tag/general), [Story of success](https://blog.webrtc.ventures/tag/story-of-success), [The WebRTC.ventures Blog](https://blog.webrtc.ventures/tag/the-webrtc-ventures-blog), [Testing](https://blog.webrtc.ventures/tag/testing), [Gaming](https://blog.webrtc.ventures/tag/gaming), [DevOps](https://blog.webrtc.ventures/tag/devops), [Symbl.ai](https://blog.webrtc.ventures/tag/symbl-ai)

## Related posts

[![](https://blog.webrtc.ventures/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Watch-WebRTC-Live-53.png?height=200&name=Watch-WebRTC-Live-53.png)](https://blog.webrtc.ventures/2021/04/webrtclive-new-generation-realtime-streaming)

## [Watch WebRTC Live #53: Building a New Generation of Interactive Real-Time Streaming Solutions With WebRTC](https://blog.webrtc.ventures/2021/04/webrtclive-new-generation-realtime-streaming)

![Picture of Jen Oppenheimer](https://blog.webrtc.ventures/hs-fs/hubfs/Our-Team-Jen.jpg?width=50&name=Our-Team-Jen.jpg) [Jen Oppenheimer](https://blog.webrtc.ventures/author/jen-oppenheimer) 

 Apr 21, 2021 12:00:00 AM

On the April 14, 2021 episode of WebRTC Live, Arin was joined by Millicast Streaming Media Engineer...

[Read more](https://blog.webrtc.ventures/2021/04/webrtclive-new-generation-realtime-streaming)

[![](https://blog.webrtc.ventures/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/IIT-RTC-Initial-Conference-Lineup-1.png?height=200&name=IIT-RTC-Initial-Conference-Lineup-1.png)](https://blog.webrtc.ventures/2020/08/announcing-the-initial-webrtc-lineup-at-iit-rtc-conference-all-sessions-free)

## [Announcing the Initial WebRTC Lineup at IIT RTC Conference - All Sessions Free!](https://blog.webrtc.ventures/2020/08/announcing-the-initial-webrtc-lineup-at-iit-rtc-conference-all-sessions-free)

[ArinSime](https://blog.webrtc.ventures/author/arinsime) 

 Aug 31, 2020 12:00:00 AM

This year’s Real Time Communications conference at the Illinois Institute of Technology will be a...

[Read more](https://blog.webrtc.ventures/2020/08/announcing-the-initial-webrtc-lineup-at-iit-rtc-conference-all-sessions-free)

[![](https://blog.webrtc.ventures/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Telehealth-Starter-Kit-Series_-Appointment-Reminders.png?height=200&name=Telehealth-Starter-Kit-Series_-Appointment-Reminders.png)](https://blog.webrtc.ventures/2019/08/telehealth-starter-kit-series-appointment-reminders)

## [Telehealth Starter Kit Series: Appointment Reminders](https://blog.webrtc.ventures/2019/08/telehealth-starter-kit-series-appointment-reminders)

[Paige Long](https://blog.webrtc.ventures/author/paige-long) 

 Aug 15, 2019 12:00:00 AM

Welcome to our telehealth starter kit blog series! For the rest of the summer, we’ll focus on one...

[Read more](https://blog.webrtc.ventures/2019/08/telehealth-starter-kit-series-appointment-reminders)

### WebRTC.Ventures Services

...

- Assess
- Build
- Integrate
- Test
- Deploy & Manage

### Contact Us

...

**Video should be an opportunity, not a headache.**   
 We’re here to build, integrate, assess and optimize, test, and even deploy and manage your live video application. 

[Contact us](https://blog.webrtc.ventures/2018/11/using-the-stage-to-combat-mental-health-stigma#contact)

### WebRTC Live

...

 View [past episodes](https://blog.webrtc.ventures/webrtc-live/) of our webinar interview series about the latest webRTC use cases and technical updates. Join our mailing list to learn about upcoming episodes! 

![WebRTC Live](https://blog.webrtc.ventures/hs-fs/hubfs/Template%20Images/widged-bannet.webp?height=90&name=widged-bannet.webp)

![logo-main-light](https://blog.webrtc.ventures/hubfs/logo-main-light.svg "logo-main-light")

We’re one of the few agencies in the world dedicated to WebRTC development. This dedication and experience is why so many people trust us to help bring live video application dreams to life.

 

### Let's get started!

###### **[Contact us today](https://webrtc.ventures/contact/)**

**[info@webrtc.ventures](mailto:info@webrtc.ventures)**

<https://www.linkedin.com/company/webrtc-ventures> <https://www.youtube.com/@WebrtcVentures>

### Join our mailing list

We don't e-mail often (a few times a month max), and it will be worth it when we do! Of course, we respect your privacy and will not share your contact information.

© 2023 WebRTC.ventures, an [AgilityFeat](https://agilityfeat.com/) company / [Privacy Policy](https://webrtc.ventures/privacy-policy//)

```json
{
  "@context" : "https://schema.org",
  "@type" : "BlogPosting",
  "author" : {
    "@type" : "Person",
    "name" : "Paige Long",
    "url" : "https://blog.webrtc.ventures/author/paige-long"
  },
  "dateModified" : "2024-04-03T18:51:19.757Z",
  "datePublished" : "2018-11-13T05:00:00.000Z",
  "headline" : "Using the Stage to Combat Mental Health Stigma",
  "image" : [ "https://blog.webrtc.ventures/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Using-the-Stage-to-Combat-Mental-Health-Stigma.png" ],
  "mainEntityOfPage" : {
    "@id" : "https://blog.webrtc.ventures/2018/11/using-the-stage-to-combat-mental-health-stigma",
    "@type" : "WebPage"
  },
  "publisher" : {
    "@type" : "Organization",
    "logo" : {
      "@type" : "ImageObject",
      "url" : "https://blog.webrtc.ventures/hubfs/logo-main-light.svg"
    }
  }
}
```