Advocate Gurin said such a stigma -- which harkens back to the idea that mental illness was a character flaw -- translates into a reluctance to talk about mental health in public, poor funding for mental health care and additional burdens on people already fighting a difficult disease.
Advocate Wright said, "People would hear this for the first time and say, 'What's the big deal, it's a joke.' I don't fault people for having the other point of view, I think most of the time it's an issue of understanding. You couldn't have a cancer doughnut or a diabetic doughnut or anything of that nature because the public has become aware of those issues."
Initially, Zweigoron and the co-owner of the business resisted making any changes to the business model.
"We said, 'We're sorry, it's not your business," he said. "You don't have a right to tell us how to run our business. It's a free country, it's America."
But since Wright and others advocating for mental health issues have called for a compromise to use the notoriety for education, Zweigoron has bought out the other co-owner and promised an "evolution" in his themed doughnut shop.
"There have been some encouraging developments lately," Zweigoron said. "I've had a meeting with some of these folks. The reality is our business is not a typical kind of business. It's always going to be constantly evolving."
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