Ronald Reagan

“ Many who are being deprived of a happy and productive future because their mental disorders go unrecognized or ignored could be helped with appropriate mental health treatment. Our Nation can no longer afford the price of the stigma against the mentally ill. ”

“ We must also realize that treatment of mental illness restores productivity to the treated, reduces their use of other health services, and increases their social independence.
Research has prompted unparalleled growth in scientific knowledge about mental illness. New technologies have permitted study of the living brain and elucidated its linkages to normal and abnormal behaviors. Such research has profound implications for all of us because it offers hope for those with the most devastating and resistant disorders and because it provides clues to the bases of human behavior. ”

“ We must understand that mental illnesses are real-not imaginary or self-inflicted-and that some are caused by biochemical or brain dysfunctions that require medical attention in addition to supportive services. ”