I wanted to talk about Lady Gaga, especially as she just won A LOT of awards this season. She has battled depression since she was a young girl. The purpose of the forum this month is to share the stories of people who we see in the media and demonstrate how widespread mental illness is, but I want to dedicate this post specifically to how Lady Gaga has expelled myths in some of her interviews regarding this topic.

1. She said, "I often felt lonely and depressed when I was growing up. It had nothing to do with my parents—it’s just my brain chemistry." It is widely accepted that depression has to have a specific trigger. While this is true in some cases, the root cause of depression is a chemical imbalance in one's brain.

2. She also noted, “I’ve suffered through depression and anxiety my entire life, I still suffer with it every single day." Mental illness doesn't " just go away." It can be managed with therapy and medication, depending on how someone wants to go through treatment. It is a lifelong struggle, not a once off event.