I think we'll have to agree to disagree here 
Following his speech (and select others), I decided to get involved in a Community and Wellbeing subcommittee in my med soc and have now signed up to a Mental Health First Aid Course. Simply because I felt I wasn't doing enough and didn't understand things as well as I'd like
With that though, you probably have a better appreciation of facts given that you're studying med (right?). Obviously in Universities he's very good. But it's the likes of Nathan Thompson and people like him who will have more effect in the broader community. Patrick has his role, and that is to speak in Universities, to do the fantastic research he is. My comments were really to highlight the sad situation we are, the fact that an academic like Patrick also seems to be heading the advocacy to the people. The proof is in the pudding really, there isn't much recognition among the general public, there isn't much of an emotional investment because we aren't emotionally invested in a broader symbol of mental health issues. It's sad that Patrick even has to try to be that.
By and large, I think we actually agree to be honest. I haven't exactly disagree with much, if anything, that you've said. He's just not a pure advocate. And he won't be. He belongs in the universities, on the ABC and so on and does a fantastic job there. To the majority of people though, they'll just be bored by him. Exactly why there needs to be a symbol, someone who has a harrowing story to tell, someone who connect with the people en masse.
Also credit to Patrick as well. For an academic, for a researcher and for someone who, in my opinion, can't communicate very well to emotions (as is required by him as a doctor, he is a man of facts), he has done an absolutely incredible job with those facts.
The Inconvenient Truth provides a fairly good comparison to be honest. The facts there had been flying around for years, but it wasn't until those facts were connected with powerful imagery and an emotional investment from Al Gore (he speaks in the film about his family and the effect of ignorance on various members) that people started to listen. Even with climate change, the most powerful statement is "we need to make sure that our children and our grandchildren have a world to live in". It's not the facts, it's not the graphs (though they are hugely important and add to it), but people will think first about things like that. Things that connect emotion to the topic. That's what mental health needs a bit of, and it's not going to come from a psychiatrist and nor should it. He's a fantastic man, who I admire a lot, but god I'd wish some more people would help him out.
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