Diagnosis: How We Defeat the Mental Health Epidemic by Labeling Less and Connecting More

When rising pro sports executive Eric Kussin's brain and body shut down, leaving him virtually bedridden for two and a half years, he had no clue how to navigate the convoluted maze that is our modern mental health care system.

Diagnosis is Eric's agonizing story as well as a wakeup call to a society that must be united to help overcome the mental health epidemic. Though awareness and advocacy are greater than ever, personal struggles--from panic episodes and ER visits to suicides and overdoses--have continued to soar.

Why such an inverse relationship between awareness and outcomes? From his personal journey, Eric found that we have a system obsessed with the "right" label and trying to fight a "chemical imbalance" with more medications at the expense of getting to the root causes. Alternatively, integrative practitioners helped him unlock the chronic stress and trauma built into his nervous system over three decades, causing physiological and biological changes that ultimately led to his mental health crash.

When he rose again, stronger than ever, he became dedicated to reframing the discussion of mental health, creating a worldwide movement energized by the commonality of our emotional pain that we all feel. He discovered that mental health doesn't afflict, as the commonly cited statistic says, "one in five" people. Rather, all of us--"five in five"--must deal with that shared reality.

Hence, #SameHere, the Global Mental Health Movement, was founded. Diagnosis provides tools for better understanding neuroscience and taking preventative action, such as the #SameHere Scale and the STARR "gym for your brain," before our health declines.

Bringing with him the impact he has had on individuals and schools to some of the biggest corporations and entertainers in the world, Eric shines a light on how you can take control of your mental health and wellness proactively, with connection, with greater empathy and less labeling.