‘If You Feel’ raises funds, awareness

The dialogue the mainstream public maintains with mental illness has proven to be limited and hesitant. One of the biggest obstacles to treating depression, anxiety and various other mental disorders is the stigma. These diseases are associated with fear and apathy, and as long as the stigma remains, the conversation remains jilted and lives remain at stake. Jamie Tworkowski attempts to shake this standard with his book “If You Feel Too Much,” which will release on May 19.

Tworkowski is the founder of To Write Love on Her Arms, a nonprofit organization that focuses on the mental illness stigma and raises funds for treatment for those who seek it. A dollar for each presold book will go toward funding TWLOHA.

Tworkowski’s new publication has similar goals to TWLOHA, but is more accessible by featuring a collection of blog posts and isolated stories of struggle that hopefully can connect a larger audience and get people talking about the taboo of mental health.

The stakes for “If You Feel Too Much” are high. Somebody has to initiate this conversation between society and mental illness, and spearheading this conversation comes with a risk. There is no guarantee that a book will encourage someone to tell his or her story, and there is no promise that people can become enlightened on the condition of the mentally ill, but it is important to try nonetheless.

As long as someone can connect to Tworkowski’s work, there is potential for change. And with an issue as serious as mental health, the potential for change suggests a will for change itself, making “If You Feel Too Much” a step toward the conversation that society needs to have, in addressing mental health and making those who suffer feel more comfortable openly discussing their disorders.

A version of this article appeared in the Thursday, April 9 print edition. Email Mary Hess at [email protected]