May 02, 12:00 PM EDT

Mental Health Month Kick-Off

It's May 1st, which means it's officially Mental Health Awareness Month! Join cofounders Aaron, Lauren and a handful of Made of Millions advocates for a community-focused hour of live chats.

About Aaron Harvey

Aaron Harvey is the cofounder and executive director at The Made of Millions Foundation, a global advocacy nonprofit on a mission to change how the world perceives mental health. 

He created the organization after spending over 20 years suffering in silence with debilitating intrusive thoughts. It was only after Googling his symptoms that he realized he was living with undiagnosed obsessive compulsive disorder, most specifically, Pure O. Through his experience with OCD, he has become a passionate advocate for democratizing access to mental health education and destigmatizing taboo symptoms. 

His background in marketing has made him an innovative leader in workplace mental health. He has collaborated with numerous organizations such as Yahoo and Mind Share Partners, and has spoken at leading industry events including Adcolor, The Wellbeing at Work Summit U.S., 4A’s Talent @ 2030, Dial Global, and Be Kind 21

His personal story has been featured in leading publications like Ad Age, Fast Company, Vice, Bloomberg, Cosmopolitan and Adweek, and in popular advocacy campaigns created by Made of Millions. Most notably, Dear Manager, No One Told Me and Shame Shouldn’t Be a Symptom

Outside of mental health, he is the cofounder and executive creative director of Ready Set Rocket, a data-driven agency on a mission to forge a better future. He works with leading brands such as the NBA, Michael Kors, JP Morgan, Puma, Univision, Carnegie Hall, and more. 

In his free time, he loves to surf and run around with his dog, Rue. You can find him on Instagram at @lifebeyondocd.

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About Lauren O'Shaughnessy

Lauren is cofounder and lead editor of the Made of Millions Foundation. She entered the foundation as a volunteer in January of 2016, prior to the launch of their first digital property, IntrusiveThoughts.org. In 2017, she began running the foundation's editorial initiatives. Since then, she’s been responsible for managing all contributed and custom content, social media channels and initiatives, and digital campaigns. She has been vocal about her struggles with Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Social Phobia.

About Ask the Advocates

Millions and millions of people around the world live with mental illness, but their stories are not all the same. They come from different places, cultures, communities and countries. They like different things, have different kinds of friends, and cope with their symptoms in different ways. When talking about mental health, it's important that we highlight these differences and explore how they shape our experiences. Mental health narratives should be as diverse and unique as we are.

Ask the Advocates is an ongoing Q&A series with outspoken mental health sufferers from around the world. Guests will open up about their experiences living with a wide range of conditions and symptoms, and answer your questions about pain, growth, healing, treatment and more. Before each episode, spend some time learning about the scheduled guest and come prepared with questions that are relevant to what they've been through.

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