Having been diagnosed with major depressive disorder back in 2015, I have experienced first hand how hospitals and surgeries deal with mental illnesses. To put it frankly, I would have been dead if I wasn’t lucky enough to be able to afford a private psychiatrist. It’s an illness that is nearly impossible to understand if you have never experienced it, having depression is NOT the same as feeling depressed. Depression is a disease that kills, and it is the highest killer in men yet the government spends 25x more on cancer research than it does mental health. 2.6% of mental health funding is from public donations, 68% for cancer research. 1 in 4 people will experience a mental health problem throughout their lifetime and even though cancer is 1 in 2 the numbers still don’t add up. Research relies on public funding and mental health research isn’t getting the funding it needs. Now more than ever people are vulnerable and even if you think you’re not making a difference, you are.