Mental Health Awareness

As some of you may know May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Brain and behavior disorders affect one in five people.  Many of you may have had experiences with friends or family that had some form of a mental disorder. For decades these diseases have not received the appropriate amount of attention needed to generate proper funding to conduct the necessary research to develop more effective treatment options. Mental illness is something we often cannot physically see; therefore, it is often dismissed or attributed to some other personality flaw/trait. 

My family, like millions of others, were not aware of the signs, symptoms, and red flags of this mental illness. This disease was able to exist within my immediate family for far too long before we were able to identify that something was wrong. Unfortunately, by the time we did realize it and began exploring treatment options, a great amount of irreparable damage had already occurred. 

I will forever be plagued with questions that cannot be answered. To a certain degree, I will never forgive myself for not realizing the magnitude of the situation developing right beside me.  I lost my brother and best friend to mental illness. It is something I hope none of you will ever have to experience. While I cannot change the past, I hope to help build a brighter future for those who suffer from this disease.

Over the last few years, mental health has finally been getting the recognition it deserves. The new dynamic approaches of treatments offer new hope for people who suffer from a wide variety of mental illnesses. As with any disease as complicated as this, there is still much more research to be done.  

Every May I will help raise awareness and/or funds to donate to a mental health charity.  The Brian and Behavior Research Foundation is a great organization. 100% of their donations go to research grants distributed to the leading scientists around the world.


Thank you for taking some time to read my story and support this great cause!


-Frank Galante

More information about Brain & Behavior Research Foundation: Since 1987, we have awarded more than $408 million to fund more than 5,900 grants to more than 4,800 scientists around the world. We are committed to alleviating the suffering caused by mental illness by awarding grants that will lead to advances and breakthroughs in scientific research. 100% of every dollar donated for research is invested in our research grants. Our operating expenses are covered by separate foundation grants.