A formative piece of media that caught my eye was the series by Hasan Minhaj on Netflix, called the “Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj” where Minhaj discusses real-world topics such as mental health or issues of global obesity. Recently, I watched an episode that covered the topic of mental health. Minhaj mentions the ongoing problem of U.S. insurance companies not providing coverage to patients who experience illnesses such as depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder to name a few that many Americans face today. I learned that insurance companies deny the privilege to cover mental health-related costs due to the well-known stigma that mental health is not an actual problem and that it can be cured if the individual just fixes the problem on their own. The reality of these companies not providing care for these issues poses a serious problem as the number of Americans facing these illnesses is continuing to increase especially among the younger demographic mostly due to stress and societal expectations. Also, I learned that there have been efforts made to bring attention to mental health, but they have not been enough to promote the importance of it as it deserves the same amount of care to that of physical health. In addition, the efforts by Patrick Kennedy, who is a former Congressman, has dedicated his time to advocate for mental health resulting in the legislation of the Mental Health Parity Act to be passed. The act has created for more awareness of mental health, but since then, Congress has passed little to none legislation. This matters to me as I suffer from anxiety and as I get older, I am worried that the stigma around mental health will still be relevant and that little will be done to improve these circumstances. For me, insurance companies should provide some amount of support to cover the costs of going to therapy and purchasing medication as these finances are overwhelming to pay out of pocket. I hope that in the future, the stigma around mental health will disappear and that anyone who suffers from these illnesses feel accepted in society and that they are not outcasts for being “different” because they are “mentally unstable”.