Thank you , Susan, for your letter and post.

I have written to Nickelodeon, Dish Network (my television provider), and the Parents Television Council about this episode. I am stunned at the lack of any type of response from a network who's mission is to provide educational and entertaining programming for CHILDREN.

This is entirely unacceptable, and it shows how very far we still have to go to combat stigma.

--

Chrisa, 44, Chicago Suburbs, eCommerce professional, Anxiety (Ativan)
Co-Mod of Adoption Group with Kathy
Co-Mod of Teen 2 Group with Christine, Tish, Conni and Hazel

Mom to Tim, adopted at birth, 17, Schizoaffective Disorder, Bipolar Type with Catatonia
Meds: Clozaril 600mg, Buspar 10mg
In Long-Term RTC since June 2009

Also Mom to Alex, bio, 20, living in Germany for a year-long internship
Also Mom to Dianna, 16, adopted at age 4 from FC, HS Sophomore, RAD, drug exposed, severely premature

Married 21 years to Tom, 44, HS Pole Vault Coach and stay-at-home-dad

Thank you, Susan, for your letter and blog. I watched the trailer and found it sickening. I went to the website for the show, and sent a message to the cast. I will also write to the contacts that you listed above.

I have forwarded your e-mail to people at my church and to all of my family. Thank you again for your well-written message.

--

Kathy K., 51, single mom in MI
Co-mod, CABF Teen3 w/ Heather, Isobel, Tish & Ci
Dylan, 18, BP, ADHD, (Depakote, Risperdal, Wellbutrin)
Incarcerated

kwkarle@tc3net.com

Here is a copy of the email I sent to Viacom:

I am appalled at the insensitivity of your upcoming iCarly episode regarding the "mental hospital". I am a parent of a young person with mental illness, and I can assure you that there is nothing funny about having to take a child to the psychiatric unit in the midst of the trauma of an episode.
I have watched iCarly with my nieces and nephews before, and I know that the show is all about being goofy and poking fun. But this show is inexcusable. You could do so much to help the thousands of young people who are battling mental illness, and yet you choose to humiliate them instead. Shame on you!

--

Kathy K., 51, single mom in MI
Co-mod, CABF Teen3 w/ Heather, Isobel, Tish & Ci
Dylan, 18, BP, ADHD, (Depakote, Risperdal, Wellbutrin)
Incarcerated

kwkarle@tc3net.com

Thank you so much for writitng about this. Sadly, this is one of our favorite shows and my boys want to see the episode. My son is currently stable, but we have seriously considered hospitalization (there were no beds available during his crisis time) and am saddened that even this show that we all really love to watch together has stooped so low to perpetuate the stigma. Sad.

Sarah:)

--

http://thisisjustnotnormal.blogspot.com/
Sarah - me (on antidepressants since '95 and doing well now)
Kurt - Husband (normal, well technically speaking!)
Charlie - 9 (BP-NOS, ADD and on Depakote and lithium)
Ryan - 7 (pretty normal, with epilepsy but has been seizure free for one year)

--Thank you so much for this info, this is one of my childrens favorite shows, but having a child thats going through this and myself, I know this is no joking matter. We will not be watchin iCarly tomorrow and i have done emailed Viacom and my cable provider what i thought about them airing this episode, and my parents and inlaws have also emailed them as well. It is hard enough for a child to deal with on a day to day basis even with medication, but to have their favorite shows making fun of mental illness is a little much.

shauna

This was my note to Viacom.

We LOVE iCarly but are so saddend to see the upcoming "iLost my Mind" episode continue to perpetuate the stigma about mental illness. My 10-year-old son has bipolar disorder and has nearly been admitted to the psychiatric unit several times because of being suicidal and other very real problems. I am just upset that our favorite show ever has stopped so low.

--

http://thisisjustnotnormal.blogspot.com/
Sarah - me (on antidepressants since '95 and doing well now)
Kurt - Husband (normal, well technically speaking!)
Charlie - 9 (BP-NOS, ADD and on Depakote and lithium)
Ryan - 7 (pretty normal, with epilepsy but has been seizure free for one year)

Thanks for the heads up, I wrote the following to them today:

I’m writing to you about an upcoming episode of iCarly called “I Lost My Mind”. It’s the episode in which Sam checks herself into a mental hospital for kissing a boy she doesn't like and the other kids try and break her free from it.

I have 3 young boys who watch this show. As a family, we have always enjoyed it. My oldest, at 10 years old, has a mental illness. He has had psychotic episodes where he sees monsters and depressive episodes where he wants to kill himself. The likelihood of my son being admitted into a mental hospital is extremely high in the coming years ahead.

This upcoming episode of iCarly will have a negative affect on my son and all children who live with mental illness. First by mocking the institution which may one day save his life, next by making a joke out of my son's mental illness and finally for exposing him to society’s negative view of mental illness. If he relates a mental hospital to something that is to be made fun of, that comes with a negative stigma that even iCarly pokes fun at, he will be more resistant to the vital care he may need someday to save his life. As parents, we are trying our best to teach him while he’s young that he has value and that his illness does not make him a bad person, but your programming tears apart all we are working towards.

You may think... “well don't have your son watch iCarly”. I wish it was that simple. Many of his classmates watch this show. So even if my son doesn't see the episode, his peers will and this will continue the negative stigma that he already fights against everyday.

Please reconsider airing this episode and be sensitive to the children that suffer everyday with mental illness. Our kids need love and support, not mockery.

--

Mom of 3 boys, the oldest (10 years) suffering with a "mood disorder". He is currently taking Tenex, Trileptal, Lithium and Melatonin to help. Check out my blog at http://mysonhas2brains.blogspot.com/

Here is what I had to say: iCarly - DISASTER. OK I barely tolerate this show with its overuse of inappropriate sarcasm and intolerance (beyond a level any adolescent is truly cognitively capable of comprehending - read up on child and adolescent behavior and neurological development). The upcoming episode in which that horrific, overly aggressive, Sam girl admits herself into a psychiatric facility is simply too much. My official opinion is that Sam's character clearly suffers from Conduct Disorder and thus perhaps would benefit from a stay in a residential treatment facility.

The worst of it is my own child has Bipolar. At 8 years old she attempted suicide and has been in and out of psychiatric hospitals since then (which is now going on three years). She feels stigmatized and on the outside of the world in which her "normal" peers live. To have mental illness and its medically warranted treatments be so inappropriately portrayed on a show such as iCarly that so many adolescents watch is reprehensible. My daughter is not "nuts" or "crazy."

Her bipolar disorder is a medical disease the same as is her Type I Diabetes Mellitus. She suffers equally with both DISEASES. Would Sam and Carly find it so horrifying to be hospitalized for a diabetic ketoacidosis? My daughter almost died from that once as well.

I have faced losing my daughter to both her MEDICAL illness. How dare you all make light, no make fun of mental illness. Might your writer's not have better skills? Or perhaps there's an Autistic child they might want to ridicule in the next season. Or maybe you could build in a joke about Carly losing her hair and looking like a Cancer patient. Wouldn't THAT be funny? No.

I promise you this - my children will NEVER watch iCarly and perhaps we will boycott Nick completely. But what do you care?

Maybe when my daughter returns to school some kid will remember this episode of iCarly and find it funny to ridicule my daughter for being "nuts" or "crazy." And maybe it will be just that one final injury my daughter might not be able to withstand... and maybe something terrible will happen. But most likely Viacom and Nick and its writers and advertisers won't care. What's one less viewer???

--
http://cmthirteen.wordpress.com/2011/08/12/stigmatizing-mental-illness/
Christine

--
I have just sent an email to viacom. its upsetting, saddening, and plain tasteless. My son who suffers from bipolar illness is a big fan of icarly, and we will no longer be watching it in our homes. Thanks CABF for the info.
Laz

Here is what I wrote:

RE: iCarly "I Lost My Mind"

While I am generally a huge fan of iCarly, as the parent of a 13 year old child who has been hospitalized twice over the past 4 months for an emerging mental illness, I am horrified by your cavalier treatment of this topic. I can assure you that my child, who also 'checked herself in' as Sam did, would not have done so if she believed she was at all able to function properly without emergency treatment. It was certainly not over something as trivial as believing herself to have ‘lost her mind’ because she kissed a boy she hates. In contrast, my child actively believes strangers and family members are trying to harm her. These symptoms affect all areas of her life, including social, educational and family relationships.

I implore you to pull this episode. The benefit of your advertiser’s dollars cannot possibly be worth the risk that children like mine do not seek treatment for their very real neurological issues. I find this very irresponsible particularly for a show generally held in high regard.

--

Karenj

Self: as sane as I can be everyday
A - DD (17yo) well adjusted, high functioning, motivated, successful, waiting patiently to go away to college
M - DD (13yo) Mood Disorder NOS (dx 4/2011) ADHD (dx 2nd grade), dumb high IQ, mainstream education with 504 only but failing miserably, Abilify 10mg and Equetro 100mg evenings, Concerta 36mg before school
BF - Live in boyfriend of 5 years, supportive and learning more every day
EX - Ex-husband, divorced since 2002, family history of bipolar, unpredictable and sometimes raging

Hi Susan,

Funny you should mention this. I noticed the soap opera All My Children has had an ongoing story-line about the famous "Erica" being stalked, kidnapped, then placed inpatient at the local "Pine Valley" mental hospital, where apparently a good portion of the community spends time. There was discussion of a 'break-out' by friends and family, mocking of stereotyped behaviors, much the same as you are saying about I Carly.

I am very disappointed that the producers would put together such a story line that could harm our children and will certainly respond. I'm wondering if it wouldn't benefit our children to also respond to the All My Children storyline? Surely this continues stigmatization of children whose parents have struggled with illness, or may know someone of any age who is hospitalized for this purpose. Furthermore, making "the wrong person" institutionalized puts a farcical spin on a serious subject. I apologize if this has been discussed elsewhere and I've missed it.

Thank you for everything,

Barbara Milton
Las Cruces, NM
--

29yo dd with untreated PMDD & anxiety who is mother of my 1yo dgd-single parent in another state
12yo dd diagnosed with PDD-NOS, Non-Speech Learning Disability, BP, Errors of Receptive Hearing, Cognitive Deficits
Inpatient currently, coming home today. taking Abilify 15mg
Me, 49, Ultram, Darvocet, Adderall, Neurontin, Lamictal, Cymbalta, Klonopin, Ativan-prn, for fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, insomnia, polymyocitis, osteoathritis in knees, left knee replacement 2005, other arthritic joints, depression, anxiety, possible bd

Susan - Thank you for drawing our attention to the iCarly episode. I went to the producer / writer's blog and posted the following. (Perhaps you can encourage your folks to do the same.
here is the link - http://danwarp.blogspot.com/2009/01/to-contact-dan-schneider.html#idc-co...)

Dan. I am on the board of directors of a 501c3 - www.Bark4Care.org; our organization strives to "bust the stigmas associated with biological brain disorders". After reading about the upcoming iCarly episode "iLost My Mind" and hearing from the director of the Child and Adolescent Bipolar Foundation (CABF) - a personal friend of mine and partner in our cause, I am posting to your blog to voice my extreme displeasure with the theme of this episode.

To quote the executive director of CABF... "Words and phrases like, “I lost my mind,” or “mental hospital” are not cool. This rendering will stigmatize kids seeking needed care, causing greater suffering and potentially even deaths. Nick's audience is the generation that can end stigma, if helped to understand!" "Jokes about psychiatric hospitalization went the way of calling a child with Down Syndrome the “R word.” They are offensive and tactless."

My added thoughts - Dan, as the writer and producer of iCarly it is your responsibility to be a good citizen especially when your program airs on Nick. To associate your message above "keeping things symmetrical"... Symmetrical interactions send the message "we are all the same"; Peer relationships are based on symmetry, power relationships are based on asymmetry.

I encourage you to visit an inpatient adolescent psychiatric ward at any major children's hospital so you can observe the children, medical staff, therapists and parents like myself who battle through each day against messages like the ones your episode puts forth; all the while doing whatever is in our power to care and ADVOCATE for our children. I suspect you will have a new found respect and admiration for these situations versus a basis for your "comedic / situational" writings.

A CABF 2009 nationwide survey shows that over 60% of the children of respondents have been hospitalized at least once and nearly 40% have had multiple hospitalizations. These families find "the joke" no laughing matter. I am one of these people.

Remember, these kids didn't ask to be born let alone with these complicated maladies that complicate what is already a difficult journey - that of childhood and adolescence. It is everyone's responsibility as a society to work together; you are one who has a very powerful medium at his disposal - that being TV. Instead of setting us back you have the power to move this cause (and others) forward!

I respectfully ask that you reply to me at bark4care@gmail.com.

Dear Susan and Parents:

NICKELODEON STRIKES AGAIN:

I recently brought this to the attention of Stigmabusters.

A rerunning episode of NICKELODEON Children's comedy Sitcom VICTORIOUS, has a very disturbing "mental ward" scene with one of the main characters just for laughs.

A teen girl character is visiting a hospital and instead gets put into a "Mental Ward" (actual sign), where she is put into handcuffs with big red "comic" foam squares and locked into a padded cell.

Even more disturbing is that the original airing of this episode made record breaking ratings of 4.2 million U.S. viewers/children who witnessed this blatantly stigmatizing episode about mental illness.

[Season One: Episode 15 "Rex Dies" Original Air Date: January 8, 2011 U.S.]

P.S. Let's not forget these programs have a life of their own on Youtube once they are aired on TV!!!!

Sincerely,
Sheila

I am glad to know I am not the only one who was upset by this. My son likes to watch the show and I usually let him until now. I was so dissapointed that they would do such a thing. Obviously they have no idea what it is like to have to take your child their. Plus what kind of message are they sending to kids who may need to reach out for help. I am am truly disgusted and contacted Viacom. I will keep contacting people. I wish they would pull the show.

Sarah S

I e-mailed Viacom and Dish today. I am very upset that they are chosing this topic for an episode. I agree with all the previous comments. iCarly is my girl's favorite TV show. It's been heavily advertised as a "new episode" and my girls will be really disappointed I won't let them watch this one. Two of my kids are also deaf and I know there would be an outcry if an episode mocked deafness, but somehow they think it is okay to mock mental illness?

--

Liesel (me): 34; PTSD, Situational(?) Depression/Anxiety
DH: 34; Anxiety & Depression
DD1, Sophie: 8; BP, ODD, Deaf w/Cochlear Implants, Gifted (5 mg. Abilify, Clonidine)
DD2: 5; Healthly
DD3: 2; Deaf w/ Cochlear Implants

Thank you for lletting us know about this. This is what I sent:

Re: The upcoming August 13th episode of iCarly "I Lost My Mind" where the character Sam has "lost her mind" and checks herself into a "mental hospital." While there, she "finger-paints." Her friends try to "break her out." The promo suggests their plan is "crazy" and "insane." This characterization is beyond the pale. It will stigmatize kids seeking needed care, causing greater suffering and potentially even deaths.

Adolescent psychiatric hospitalization is no more a joke than brain cancer or any other serious illness. Your insensitive and attempted comedic portrayal of a teen being in a psychiatric hospital is so objectionable that I am asking all 350 + of my Facebook friends to boycott your show. I hope to prevent a child or teen with mental illness from seeing this program because it perpetuates the stigma of mental illness. Many teens do not seek help for depression or other mental health problems for this very reason. Any parent of a child with a mental illness or who has lost their loved one to suicide will tell you to please not air this episode. Go to the Childhood and Adolescent Bipolar Foundation website http://www.bpkids.org/connect to become enlightened about how devastating mental illness really is.

--

Karen Delugas Sebastian Mother of Ryan, 24, Bipolar, Asperger or nonverbal learning disability, ADHD, OCD, learning disabilities, hypothyroidism

Here is what I wrote:

My daughter LOVES icarly and Sam is her favorite character. Unfortunately, my daughter also has bipolar disorder. When she is unstable and wanting to kill herself at 8 years old, it is not funny. I think it is incredibly insensitive of you to air this episode. You would not write an episode with Sam having cancer or diabetes and make fun of her. Hahahaha Sam has cancer and is in the hospital receiving chemo!! Let's go break her out so she can't receive the lifesaving treatment that she needs. Not so funny is it? Mental illness is no different. When children are placed in mental hospitals it's because they need their lives saved. The only difference is the STIGMA attached to it. And, by airing this episode you are furthering that stigma. You have an incredible platform. Imagine if Sam really had a mental illness such as bipolar disorder...imagine the good that you could do in writing a storyline teaching children tolerance.

--

Lisa

P - 8 yo - Mood Disorder and possible ADHD, Abilify 7.5 mg and Kapvay .5mg

Here is my email to Viacom/Nickelodeon:

The iCarly episode entitled "I Lost My Mind" airing on August 13, 2011 is offensive to me and my family. I find it deplorable that in the 21st century television would be using people's pain and suffering—children's pain and suffering of mental illness a target for jokes.

Three members of my immediate family suffer from psychological illnesses. Bipolar Disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder, General Anxiety Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and Chronic Acute Depression are all diseases that affect members of my immediate family. From my youngest child of 4, to my 25 year old, we have been distraught over the bullying, teasing, and ridiculing.

Please pull this episode and replace it with an episode of compassion. Through television—and specifically iCarly—teens and tweens today can make a difference in the lives of thousands of children, helping them feel better about themselves rather than hurting their already damaged psyche.

Thank you for listening to your audience.
Loran Farrow

Perhaps there will be enough of a swell to influence them, but I fear not.

Loran

--

'64 Mid-century Modern Girl
Me: 47, GAD, OCD, Chronic Acute Depression, Sarcoidosis, Fibromyalgia, Osteopenia, Osteoarthritis, Migraines, Eczema, Dermatitis
My Family—
Scott: DH, 46, great dad and husband, bad back issues, USAF 20 yr veteran
Dannie: DD, 4, most likely BP
Brendan: DS, 8, highly gifted
Owen: SS, 15, behavior issues—moody, defiant, rude, extremely bad behavior issues
Ashley: DD, 26, BP, Borderline Personality Disorder, OCD; dx in 2009 after 2nd suicide attempt; behavior issues began in 5th grade
Jarrod: DS, 28,
Ali: DIL, 22,
Riley: GS, 2. Cute as a button and is strong as BamBam

I am an investor and a Board Certified Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist. I have not seen your show iCarly (I lost my mind). Anything that stigmatizes mental illness or makes light of the struggles and behaviors of adolescents is IMHO a "NO-NO." Please reevaluate and reassess the potential harm that your show noted may precipitate. Remember "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." Thank you for taking seriously these matters of life and death.

Roslyn Seligman, M.D.

If anyone watches this episode, please note (and post) the advertisers. They are the ones funding this nonsense, and they also need to be contacted.

--

Wendi, 44, Mom of
Joe (11): Just diagnosed BP Abilify 5 mg; Lamictal 100 mg Omega 3 3000 mg
Daniel (8): anxiety Prozac 10 mg
David (5)
Married to Mike, 43, for 14 years.

This is the email I sent to Viacom:

I have just learned about a show on Nickelodeon as a result of the email I received from the Child and Adolescent Bipolar Foundation. I am a Clinical Psychologist who works with children and adolescents, and I am deeply disturbed that a show would be developed and aired which stigmatizes mental illness in children. From the description of the show, it sounds as though mental illness is being trivialized and made into a joke. It is hard to imagine that anyone developing an episode for a children's show would think that this is a good idea. Those of us who work with families who have a member who is mentally ill are aware that many people are concerned about seeking mental health services, for themselves and/or for their children, and this show could promote that attitude of fear about being "crazy". I am personally treated for depression and anxiety, and all members of my family have experienced mental health challenges. These illnesses can lead to tremendous suffering, wasted lives, and death. Mental illness is a biologically-based brain disorder. It would not be appropriate to make fun of people with other physical illnesses, and it certainly is not a joke. I hope that this episode will be pulled from being aired, and that future shows that your company "sponsors" will refrain from insensitive portrayals of mental illness as well.

I'm so glad to see so many people have written and called Nickelodeon and Viacom. I have also read many posts on Facebook pages for iCarly, the writer, DanWarp, and Dan's blog from teens - some teens saying, "I have Bipolar Disorder and this episode isn't funny," but as many from teens who tell us all to 'get over ourselves'.

We have to remember - society doesn't change unless we stand up and demand it. It will take a very, very long time. But together, raising our voices in this way whenever we see, hear, or experience stigma, we can, eventually, make a change.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to write and call!

--

Chrisa, 44, Chicago Suburbs, eCommerce professional, Anxiety (Ativan)
Co-Mod of Adoption Group with Kathy
Co-Mod of Teen 2 Group with Christine, Tish, Conni and Hazel

Mom to Tim, adopted at birth, 17, Schizoaffective Disorder, Bipolar Type with Catatonia
Meds: Clozaril 600mg, Buspar 10mg
In Long-Term RTC since June 2009

Also Mom to Alex, bio, 20, living in Germany for a year-long internship
Also Mom to Dianna, 16, adopted at age 4 from FC, HS Sophomore, RAD, drug exposed, severely premature

Married 21 years to Tom, 44, HS Pole Vault Coach and stay-at-home-dad

I also sent in a message to the Viacom link. My family does watch that show. We watch on the Nick 2 channels, which is usually reruns and not in chronological order. Recently, I have noticed that the show seems to frequently use mental illness as the source of it's jokes: "I Lost My Mind, I Psycho, and endless jokes during other episodes. It is very disappointing and harmful to all children who watch the show.

We enjoy this show, but I have been increasingly irritated by it's prejudice against brain disorders.

This is the producer, Dan Schneider's e-mail address:

DanWarp@gmail.com (sorry I can't get it to link)

He doesn't read it directly, though. It would be nice to have direct access.

Mary

Mary

I'm upset and disappointed regarding this iCarly episode. I emailed Viacom with a similar complaint as those above and asked my husband to read this Blog. He remembered that we own stock in Viacom and is planning to file a "Proxy" with the corporation. He's also checking into any possible SEC violations. Please check your stock portfolios, and consider doing the same, if you own shares in Viacom.

--

So Blessed - SAHM, Forty-something-Homeschooling BP child.
DH - Supportive husband and father

Son - 10, BP#1, Mixed with Psychosis, stable since 2007, with med resets, as needed. Two successful inpatient hospitalizations.
Son - 8, No Dx's, Typical in all childhood developmental areas. Strong academically. Says he wants to be a doctor when he grows up "to help children's, (like his brother), brains feel better."

"And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance", Lee Ann Womack

Thank you so much for giving us a heads up on this, I was able to lock Nick in time to avoid my children watching this show. Nick will not be unlocked in our house, ever.

Email sent to Viacom:
I am writing regarding the August 13th episode of iCarly entitled "I Lost My Mind". As a mother of a child with a serious mental illness and a mother who has had to make very difficult decisions regarding hospitalizations, I am shocked at the level of distaste, intolerance, and ignorance. I can keep my family from watching this despicable episode, however since all of their peers watch the show, I have no control over keeping others from propagating the stigma associated with her condition. The damage she (and other children with mental illnesses) could suffer from their friends (and even worse class bullies) watching this show is immeasurable. You should be ashamed. You have lost our family as viewers of your entire lineup of programming and I am sharing these thoughts with my entire circle of friends.

I cannot trust Nick to provide responsible programming; I have locked out your channel using the parental controls, never to be unlocked.

I recently finished watching this iCarly episode and and decided I will certainly write a strongly-worded letter to Nickelodeon about my strong feelings towards what I saw.

I don't know what everyone else was watching, but I just watched a hilarious, well-written episode of iCarly that recognized mental illness in a way that wasn't too serious and that didn't treat it like it's this deep, dark disease that must never be discussed on a children's show. I took several medications to treat my mental illness from ages 8-14, so I'd say I'm a good voice of "adolescent" mental illness. I'm now a 20-year-old college student and have not been "cured" by any means, but I do know that a good way to cope with mental illness is to not take it too seriously. Speaking from experience, being overly sensitive and taking everything too seriously is part of having a mental illness, but also makes it worse. If "crazy" people are made out to be this separate group of people locked away in a dark dungeon, kids and teens will treat them as such. Dan Schneider, the creator of iCarly and the writer of this episode, is not a dummy. He went to Harvard and he's written several shows and movies for kids. He clearly knew what he was doing when he decided to write an episode that portrayed a taboo subject in a lighthearted manner.

So that's what I'll say in the letter.

To quote Oscar Wilde, "...We should treat all the trivial things of life very seriously, and all the serious things of life with sincere and studied triviality."

http://www.itypewithpurpose.blogspot.com

Thankyou All!! I thought I was the only one who felt this way. We loved I Carly in my house but that episode did it for me and no longer allow my children to watch. With the power that show has over our children It should be expected that they want to be more positive role models and help young children be more aware of the issues/illness that kids are dealing with everyday. My problem is not only with I Carly but people in general who do not consider or realize MENTAL ILLNESS IS A REAL ILLNESS! I ABSOLUTELY agree no one would shun or make fun of those with cancer,ms,aids,or deformaties! but because our loved ones have no actual physical signs lock em up! Our children,Adults & loved ones suffer everyday and there pain is inside there minds!!! We all need to stand up and get loud MENTAL ILLNESS IS REAL!!!!!

--

jessica sachs

That is so pathetic and just plain cruel.

--

TM