Made of Millions Foundation

We’re headed to Washington, DC this week to present at the Mental Health America Conference 🧠🎉 Our presentation, The Selfie Generation — Exploring Self Diagnosis and Social Media Among Gen Z, will unpack the biggest findings from our latest research report, Remapping Recovery. Our amazing panel includes: ⭐️ Esther Fernandez - Social Lead / Content Strategist here at Made of Millions ⭐️ Dr. Courtney Tracy, LCSW, PsyD, CCTP, C-PD - Licensed Psychotherapist, Author, Creator, and Founder at Exist Centers ⭐️ Uma R. Chatterjee, M.S., MHPS - Neuroscientist & PhD Student, University of Wisconsin-Madison Speakers will discuss how resource-starved young people are using the internet to innovate new approaches to mental health – combining their digital DIY research with in-person, clinical care. 💻 Want to watch us live? Register online at mhanational.org/conference for livestream access 🤝 Attending the conference? Reach out to us and let’s get connected! Stay tuned for plenty of updates, collaboration content, and presentation clips from this week. See you Friday!

A new study from non-profit Made of Millions Foundation reveals the positive impact social media is having on a generation’s quest for mental healthcare https://lnkd.in/eMyxDqJh

“It’s easy to villainize social media, but like so many things in life, in and of itself, it’s not inherently bad. For countless, platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter have become vital spaces for them to express themselves, find community, and even access mental health education. According to the Remapping Recovery Report from Made of Millions, 41 percent of Gen Z relies on social media for mental health education, more than traditional sources like schools and even parents. Hashtags like #ADHD and #Depression have each garnered millions of views, and mental health clinicians with massive followings have helped break down complex mental health topics into digestible videos. Social media has undeniably played a role in destigmatizing mental health discussions. Unlike previous generations, Gen Z is more likely to acknowledge their struggles and seek professional help. The accessibility of mental health conversations online has helped many young people put a name to their experiences, validate their emotions, and find others who relate. But this ease of information-sharing comes with its own set of risks.” Ben Miller shared his thoughts about our new report, Remapping Recovery, on his Substack - Mental: Fighting the fragmentation of mental health one policy at a time. 🔗📖 Read the full piece: https://lnkd.in/getbqTPy 📊💫 Download our report, Remapping Recovery, for free on our site: https://lnkd.in/g-D7zE8A Have thoughts on our latest research for your newsletter, podcast, or other social channels? Shoot us a DM 📩 #research #mentalhealth #remappingrecovery

If you’re active in the OCD space, you’ve probably heard this statistic: it takes 13-17 years to get diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder. But what if we told you that time frame is shrinking? On average, OCD respondents from our study went from symptom onset to diagnosis in 28 months. And one quarter reported they were diagnosed just one month after symptom onset. This suggests that the mental health journey is now far quicker than it used to be, due to a variety of factors that we discuss in our latest report, Remapping Recovery. In it, we explore the effects of social media, digital tools, pop culture, self-diagnosis, and so much more. 📥 To learn more, download our report, Remapping Recovery, for free on our site : https://lnkd.in/g-D7zE8A 🎥 Watch our video essay breaking down our findings on YouTube: https://lnkd.in/gNS3PzPA #ocd #mentalhealth #intrusivethoughts #ocdresearch

🤔🧠 Do you feel well educated on mental health? How familiar are you with the spectrum of conditions — from anxiety disorders to personality disorders to substance use? Do you feel confident navigating different treatment options? Can you decipher clinical language? 📊 According to our research, nearly half of Gen Zs and parents say they have not been educated adequately about mental health at school, work, or home. So where are people getting their mental health info? 🤳 52% of Gen Zs at the Onset and Research Phases are turning to social media to learn more. While older generations might be concerned that social media is such a popular source of information, our data suggests that Gen Zs are using these resources to fill educational gaps. With school, work, and home dropping the ball, young people are making do with the avenues available to them. But is this the right move? Should healthcare professionals be embracing this new approach or finding alternative ways to reach young people? 📥 To learn more, download our report, Remapping Recovery, for free on our site : https://lnkd.in/g-D7zE8A 🎥 Watch our video essay breaking down our findings on YouTube: https://lnkd.in/gNS3PzPA

Reflecting this week on how I was trying to live without mental health help for so long. I wrote this a few years ago and Made of Millions Foundation picked it up for one of their campaigns later. POINT IS Please don't be ashamed to seek help. We tend to do better together. 💎

Congrats to Made of Millions Foundation as they launch their "Remapping Recovery" report - revealing the truth about social media's vital role in Gen Z's modern mental health journey. Read about it over at Mashable: https://lnkd.in/gKJFJHsK And download the report: https://lnkd.in/g2cbUEnK #MentalHealth #MentalHealthAwareness #GenZ #Selfcare #Wellness

“A new survey and report from the Made of Millions Foundation, a nonprofit mental health advocacy organization, found that only a small fraction of Gen Z youth relies solely on the internet to interpret their symptoms and make their own conclusions about a diagnosis or disorder. The majority of youth surveyed instead consult online resources, including social media, in conjunction with seeking or receiving mental health care and treatment. The findings counter a prevailing narrative that it's become trendy, and common, for young people to diagnose themselves with a specific condition without any professional help or support.” Thank you Mashable for the feature 🙏 It’s easy to paint topics like mental health and social media in black and white. News coverage doesn’t always capture the nuances of online advocacy. We’re grateful to have a publication do this conversation, and our research, justice. At the end of the day, the internet will always be both good and bad, which is why demonizing it is unproductive. Instead, we need to see it for what it is: a tool to be used in moderation, and alongside real-life resources. 📖 Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/gKJFJHsK 🔗 You can download a free copy of our report, Remapping Recovery, and watch our video essay breaking down our research by visiting https://lnkd.in/g4rikW3U 👉 If you’re a publication or storyteller interested in covering our findings, please DM or email us directly.

After a year of quietly working on this project, we’re thrilled to finally launch Remapping Recovery — a research report about Gen Z’s quest for better mental health care 📄 The mental health journey has evolved in recent years due to a long list of cultural and technological changes: the rise of social media, telehealth platforms, greater pop culture representation, reckonings about systemic inequality. But after years working in advocacy, we noticed that research on this topic hadn’t kept pace. Where were all the reports comparing Gen Z’s journey to generations that came before? Hadn’t factors like uh, the internet, radically changed the way young people learn about and address their mental wellbeing? With these questions in mind, our team, in partnership with research group Culture Co-Op, set out to explore Gen Z’s unique experiences going from symptom onset, to diagnosis, to treatment, and ultimately, condition maintenance. We asked ourselves: What does this journey currently look like? How can it be faster and more linear for today’s young people? Our findings flip a lot of current narratives about mental health and social media, and offer a dualistic, hopeful take for a generation in need of guidance. 📥 Download the report for free on our website: https://lnkd.in/g4rikW3U 🎥 Watch our video essay breaking down these findings on YouTube: https://lnkd.in/gNS3PzPA We’re excited to dive deeper into our findings over the next few weeks, and believe that now is an especially crucial moment to be focusing on younger generations and the systemic barriers they’re up against. Huge thank you to our expert contributors: Uma R. Chatterjee, M.S., MHPS Dr. Jody Adewale Dr. Courtney Tracy, LCSW, PsyD, CCTP, C-PD and Chrissie Hodges As an organization dedicated to online advocacy and grassroots change, we understand how transformative tech and social media can be. To anyone who has also been deeply impacted by the internet — this report is for you. We want to hear your stories, engage in conversation, and do what we can to make diagnosis and treatment more accessible for all.