Personally, I see public recognition as a hollow victory. Identifying problems and developing an understanding of them in the abstract, outside of any of your own experiences, does not and will not prepare you or make you more understanding on an inter-personal basis.

And that's what matters more than any "public awareness." A generalised "yeah, that's bad, people should get help for that" doesn't actually have an impact on the fact that on the ground, in droves, people are being told they are weak, to suck it up, that therapy is for losers and basket cases. It doesn't change the fact that spouse's families will often recoil once they find out you are mentally ill, silently or vocally disapproving for fear that you'll spread it around. It doesn't have much impact on the fact that every day, in every way, people are still being put down, discouraged and stigmatised by the people they meet, know personally, or even love.

I mean... the proof is in the pudding. Perhaps the most profound is that people do not share their mental illnesses with employers because they are more likely to lose their jobs or not be employed at all. If there was ever a place that should be enthusiastic about mental health and keeping people sane, it's the workplace. And yet, the chief thing in most peoples lives actively discourages open and honest discourse and mental health care.

"Public awareness" should by all means change things. But it hasn't yet, and likely won't, as there is a significant difference between society saying, "Okay, yeah, that's a problem and it's treatable." and actually doing anything about it, actually providing resources, actually holding open conversations with sufferers for the sake of learning.

I'm normally not this pessimistic. But I've suffered from mental illness my entire memorable life. I want things to change, and I'm always talking about these things in the hope that my input will be one of the many little nudges to make it happen. But being mentally ill, and having illnesses that are incurable, and having to face the fact that my own brain constantly breaks me down and no one else, not even family, seem to understand why stepping outside is so difficult, has forced me to be pragmatic, and focus more on the things that actually matter.

I respect people like Garry and Beyond Blue for their campaigns. But it's hard to see any positive changes when you still see the heaping pile of refuse that is the way people with mental illness are treated in the real world.