In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, we’re taking a moment to highlight how anyone can be there for the people in their lives by starting a conversation about mental health. 

Whether it’s through advocating on someone’s behalf, or by simply listening, there are many ways to demonstrate your support. Now, 23andMe has added another way to help called Friends of Depression and Bipolar. As the first phase of 23andMe’s <a href="https://www.23andme.com/depression-bipolar/">depression and bipolar study</a> draws to a close, we have launched this next phase of the study that focuses on individuals who do not have a diagnosis of depression or bipolar and are interested in participating in the research. As part of this effort, we are recruiting 25,000 existing 23andMe customers who do not have a diagnosis of depression or bipolar. The research from this next part of the study will help scientists to understand if certain genetic markers and lifetime experiences are more common in people living with these illnesses. 

“As someone who works in the mental health space, I am regularly reminded of the importance of language.,” said Annie Blaine, the Marketing + Development Manager, Bring Change 2 Mind. “A kind word, an understanding tone, and a listening ear go further than any of us could ever imagine. These moments of empathy are invaluable for creating connection and for erasing stigma. And, as someone who has loved ones who are taking part in 23andMe’s depression and bipolar study, I know how critical this research is for providing hope. In the world of uncertainty that often surrounds mental illness, this study offers a chance for the answers and solutions that we are all seeking to lead full and productive lives.” 
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Mental-Health-Awareness-Month-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-26202" width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Mental-Health-Awareness-Month-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Mental-Health-Awareness-Month-300x200.jpg 300w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Mental-Health-Awareness-Month-768x512.jpg 768w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Mental-Health-Awareness-Month-880x587.jpg 880w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Mental-Health-Awareness-Month-1180x787.jpg 1180w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />


Participants in Friends of Depression and Bipolar will be asked to complete the same research activities as those participants living with depression or bipolar. Along the way, scientists will compare survey responses, cognitive assessments, and genetic data from both groups and try to identify what makes people living with depression and bipolar unique. In the first few weeks of enrollment, we have already recruited over 6,000 participants. 

Participating in research is just one of many ways to create more awareness and to support everyone living with a mental illness. Another way is talking about mental health with the people in your life. But, whether you are living with a mental illness or you want to reach out to someone about their mental health, we know that initiating these conversations is often daunting. That’s why we’re excited to share some resources developed by Bring Change to Mind (BC2M) that address this exact concern. 

BC2M is a national organization focused on ending the stigma surrounding mental illness through encouraging dialogue and raising awareness, understanding, and empathy. Additionally, BC2M acts as a portal to a broad coalition of organizations that provide mental health services, screening, information, support, and treatment. 
BC2M believes that every individual who speaks out inspires another. And another. Which is how we’ll end the stigma around mental illness. But, BC2M also recognizes that one of the biggest challenges in discussing mental health is getting started. So, BC2M developed a <a href="https://bringchange2mind.org/talk/talk-tool/">Talk Tool</a>, which was launched as part of their fifth PSA, <a href="https://bringchange2mind.org/learn/psas/talk-to-anyone">Talk to Anyone</a>, to offer helpful tips on how to start conversations that touch on various diagnoses and relationships. Not every conversation will be perfect, but each one fights the stigma around mental illness. And, that’s a conversation worth having. <a href="https://bringchange2mind.org/talk/talk-tool">Visit the BC2M Talk Tool today, and start your own mental health conversation!</a> <a href="https://bringchange2mind.org/talk/talk-tool"></a>

May is Mental Health Awareness Month

<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-full wp-image-21214" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/IBD-IMage-.jpg" alt="IBD IMage" width="240" height="160" />In an important milestone for research, 23andMe has enrolled 10,000 people to participate in a study focused on understanding the role genetics plays in the onset and progression of Inflammatory Bowel Disease.


In collaboration with Pfizer, Inc, <a href="http://23andMe.com/ibd/">23andMe’s IBD Study</a> is unique in its size, and its use of genetics in combination with online survey tools to speed discovery. Now that 10,000 people with IBD have joined together to fight this condition, 23andMe researchers can begin their work in earnest.

“I joined 23andMe to share my genetic information with those researching Crohn&#8217;s Disease,” one participant told us. “I would love to contribute to a better understanding of this pernicious illness and hopefully, one day, a cure.”

Inflammatory Bowel Disease, also known as IBD, is a chronic autoimmune condition, which includes both Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. It affects more than 5 million people worldwide and can be debilitating. Symptoms include among other things cramps, pain, fever, loss of appetite, bowel problems and severe weight loss. Currently there is no cure.


Although there are treatments, the effectiveness of those treatments varies and that is part of what our researchers want to understand with this study. The hope is that insight from this research will aid in developing more effective ways to treat the condition and map the progression of the illness.
Having such a large number of genotyped individuals with IBD offers scientists a rare opportunity. 23andMe’s non-traditional approach to research also is unique for people with IBD who want to participate by allowing them to do so from their homes instead of having to travel to a research facility.


This model makes it easier for researchers to share findings with participants, breaking with the traditional research model and treating people as partners, not subjects. 23andMe also offers the additional benefit allowing participants to learn more about themselves by looking at their results. This in turn feeds engagement, encouraging people to continue their involvement in research as they learn about themselves, and creating a virtuous circle for discovery.


This model for research is what has helped 23andMe to study other conditions such as<a href="https://www.23andme.com/pd/"> Parkinson’s disease</a>,<a href="https://www.23andme.com/lupus/"> Lupus</a> and<a href="https://www.23andme.com/mpn/"> Myeloproliferative neoplasms</a>. It is also a research model that is being embraced by others, including the NIH’s Precision Medicine Initiative. 23andMe knows from experience that engaged consumers are the key to making this kind of research work.


“We are excited to see the enthusiasm with which people have received this study,” said Joyce Tung, PhD, 23andMe’s vice president for research. “It goes to show that people really want to participate in research with a model in which researchers put more into the relationship.”

Important Goal Reached for IBD Study

We started 23andMe to enable individuals to get access to their genetic<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-45 alignright" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/anne_large.jpg" alt="" width="333" height="500" srcset="https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/anne_large.jpg 333w, https://blog.pub.us-west-2.prd.23andme.us/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/anne_large-200x300.jpg 200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 333px) 100vw, 333px" /> information. Our DNA is a fascinating aspect of who we are, and we feel strongly that anyone who wants their genetic data should be able to get access to it. But we also started 23andMe to accomplish something that could impact all of us in a much greater way&#8211;to change the current research paradigm.
The power of 23andMe is in the We, people powering <a href="https://research.23andme.com/">23andMe research</a>. All over the world we can see examples of individuals coming together to change society. Healthcare is a shining example of it: The Susan G. Komen Foundation, Livestrong and Team in Training are just a few examples of individuals who have come together to create change.
Healthcare is a shining example of it: The Susan G. Komen Foundation, Livestrong and Team in Training are just a few examples of individuals who have come together to create change.
Our goal at 23andMe is to enable individuals to form communities around shared interests and to empower those communities to be actively involved with research. We call it Consumer Enabled Research. We don&#8217;t just want communities to have a voice, we want to provide a platform for them to collectively aggregate their genetic information. One of the significant bottlenecks in research is the lack of data. Researchers and physicians rarely have enough of it to really understand a disease or how to treat it. Our goal is to change that.
 
We believe personalized medicine could and should become mainstream in the near term. Rather than using often out-dated diagnostic criteria, we believe doctors will be able to utilize new genetics-based methods to more accurately pinpoint a problem. Before taking a drug to treat these problems, patients should know if they are at risk of having an adverse reaction, or whether they should have a lower or higher dose. Medicines are definitely not one-size-fits-all, but unfortunately that&#8217;s predominantly how they&#8217;re prescribed.
We also believe that individuals should have more involvement in the traits that are studied. Did you know it is hypothesized that red heads require less anesthesia? If you are a red head, you&#8217;d probably like to know if that is true or not! At 23andMe, individuals will have the ability to form communities, input information, and help the research world take on new questions.

Researchers are currently limited in the projects they can take on because it&#8217;s expensive to recruit individuals, and funding is limited. We believe 23andMe could change this. Individuals have the ability to help lower research costs by making their data available for the research community and by having multiple groups research the data rather than just one. We believe the democratization of data and the increase in competition could help accelerate the pace and diversity of research.

We&#8217;re at the beginning of a revolution that combines genetics and the Internet. Wikipedia, YouTube and MySpace have all changed the world by empowering individuals to share information. We believe this same phenomenon can revolutionize healthcare.

research communities

May is Mental Health Awareness Month

Important Goal Reached for IBD Study

The Power of We

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