Let’s Break the Stigma Surrounding Mental Illness

Now more than ever, attorneys are facing challenges with stress, anxiety, and mental illness – and this struggle all too often results in substance abuse, depression, or even suicide. To make matters worse, attorneys feel like they are unable to talk about mental illness as it will be seen as a sign of weakness. Indeed, there is a stigma surrounding mental illness that clients will not hire you, that opposing counsel will take advantage of you, or that The Florida Bar will find you unfit to practice law. This stigma ends now.

The YLD is proud to launch the #StigmaFreeYLD initiative to help end the stigma over mental health and illness in our profession. Through this initiative, we aim to demonstrate that dealing with mental illness is not a weakness, but a sign of strength. That by embracing your reality and dealing it, you can better understand how stress, anxiety, and mental illness may be affecting your practice and your life. We will also provide resources that you can use to meet and overcome these challenges.

Below you will find attorneys just like you who have struggled with mental illness but have built wildly successful practices and found true enjoyment in their lives by taking action and seeking help. We believe that by opening up the discussion, we can work together to break the stigma over mental illness in our profession, lift each other up, and help more young lawyers reach fulfillment and satisfaction in their practice. We invite you to click on each attorney’s biography to watch their story, and encourage you to share your stories on social media by using the hashtag #StigmaFreeYLD.