Also, people who don't know about mental disorders cannot be very understanding or empathetic towards other who suffer from mental illness. People's ignorance only increases the stigma surrounding mental illness.

Starting in July 2018, New York became first state to require mental health education. New York’s School Mental Health (SMH) Program forms relationships with schools and integrates mental health education for every grade. Some facets of mental health which are addressed include the importance of self-care, the idea that mental health should be regarded with the same concern as physical health, ways to recognize signs of problems, relationship between mental health and negative behaviors, and the impact of stigma. 

Mental health education is also required in Virginia, where the basic premise is that physical education or health education curricula for ninth and 10th graders have a mental health component.

-many families have financial constraints or have trouble coordinating transportation to places where their kids receive education and other mental health services.
-I think that mental health education should be incorporated into the curriculum of health or physical education class. A school would not have to compromise any time spent in traditional classes if they set aside time in their health classes to educate students on mental health. If this plan were implemented, a family would not have to worry about transportation or extra costs.

A 2016 Harris poll found that 53 percent of respondents didn't know that people with anxiety disorders are at risk for self-harm

A survey of 4600 people organized by researchers at Michigan State University, showed that 32 percent of the people who took the survey couldn't identify the signs of prescription drug abuse, 80 percent didn't think it was a treatable issue, less than 50 percent could recognize the signs of anxiety, and the vast majority of the respondents had no idea about how depression is treated.

A 2003 survey in England found that 63 percent of the population appears to believe that fewer than 10 percent of all people will experience a mental illness, while in reality around 1 in 5 adults suffer from mental illness.