The comedian, John Oliver, discusses how people don’t like to talk about mental illnesses and “when we do, we don’t talk about it well.” Oliver also says, “we tend to only discuss mental health in a mass shooting context.” The meaning behind this is supported as he continues to discuss that the idea of mental illness is brought up after shootings despite the fact that most of the shootings that occur are done by non-mentally ill people. He continues to discuss this issue by explaining what is done with the millions of adults that have a mental illness. It began as 125,000 people with mental illnesses were placed in nursing homes and 2 million people with mental illnesses are placed in jail cells. The way our system deals with mental health is an issue because more people are likely to go to jail cells than actually receive treatment. One of the most common mental illnesses that people struggle with in the United States is depression.
Sadness is an emotion that every human being experiences in life but it is not consistent. It doesn’t consume everyone to the point where they don’t find interest in any of their hobbies or activities. Depression is not something that someone can simply “snap out of.” It is a common psychological medical condition in the United States that affects someone’s everyday life. This mental illness causes a person to have negative thoughts and emotions that include feelings of loneliness, sadness, hopelessness, and a pessimistic attitude for at least two weeks, not allowing them to function as they normally do. Overall, a person’s behavior, actions, habits and daily activities are affected by struggling with depression.
Scientific Lens
The chance of someone having depression is present if there is family history of depression or if someone experiences a traumatizing experience, life changes or stress (NIMH, 2016, Risk Factors para. 3). Examples include losing a loved one, a violent relationship, or a difficult childhood. Teenage years are difficult and can play a role in depression and experiencing many symptoms of depression. According to a NIMH, under the heading “Teens” (2015), “Teens are forming an identity apart from their parents, grappling with gender issues and emerging sexuality, and making independent decisions for the first time in their lives.” While these cases can cause teens to have several bad moods and attitude towards their parents, depression is different. Depression includes several symptoms that affect daily activities. A possible limitation of this information can be the uncertainty of whether a teen is going through the normal teenage phases, or possibly moodiness symptoms that can later lead to depression. These symptoms include lack of interest and concentration, feelings of hopelessness and worthlessness, sleep difficulties, appetite changes, and many more (NIMH, 2015). Depression is high for teenagers as they are grasping who they are as a person and going through physical and emotional changes. Not all depressed people feel a lot of these symptoms. Some may feel more symptoms than others and some of these symptoms don’t last the same amount of time for everyone. As teenage phases of sadness and difficult occur, many people may not suspect that they have depression.
There are several factors that play a role in depression, which vary from life events to family history. The percentage of people who struggle with this mental illness was shown after a survey by WebMD, an organization that provides credible health information, was taken, which portrayed data that showed 8 percent of 46,000 people in the study were depressed, or approximately more than 3,680 people (Reinberg, 2016). However, only one third of these people were being treated for depression. A limitation to this data is that there are unknown factors that may play a role in why the other two thirds of the people are not being treated. Some of these factors can include their financial status, which can cause them to be unable to pay for treatment, and their lack of knowledge about their mental illness. In some situations, people may not know they are depressed. As provided by the National Institute of Mental Health, or NIMH (2015), under the heading “Depression is a real illness,” an example of this is shown as a firefighter and ex-marine says, “I felt like I was just going through the motions and wondering what the point of it all was. I never considered that I might have an underlying condition. I figured this is just how life is” (para. 1). This perspective of someone who is depressed shows that in some cases people accept the constant feeling of sadness and think of it as something everyone goes through. They believe life is supposedly like that and can’t change, not suspecting that they may have a mental illness. The ex-marine believed he could deal with everything in life; this was until he was unable to get sleep and was constantly in a bad mood. He worked poorly due to lack of concentration, which is a factor and symptom of depression. Due to his lack of knowledge about depression and his belief that everyone experienced life like this, the ex-marine didn’t search for any help or treatment, and would be considered part of more than half of the people who do not receive treatment.
Social Lens
Social media ia big role in portraying issues today. As the anecdote explained how our system deals with mental health, the issue was brought to attention throughout society. The children’s movie, “Inside Out,” shows the mental illness of depression with a twist from normal children’s movie. An average movie for children stereotypically tended to be and consist of a nice story line where the main characters have drama and problems in their life that they always overcome, which “end happily ever after.” The article “Is ‘Inside Out’ About Depression?” (Simon 2015) explains the movie by stating, “Thanks to Sadness accidentally touching her best core memories, Riley begins to see her new life in a more negative view; she regrets the move, is angry at her parents, and rejects her once-favorite activities.” Although this depicts a typical teenage behavior, it portrays the negative ways that depressed people view life on a daily basis. It’s is different from other children’s movies because not everything in her life is happy and positive after she moves. As she rejects her “once-favorite activities,” it supports a symptom of depression which is the lack of interest in hobbies and boredom of activities that once excited the individual. The same article also states that “there are so few films aimed at young audiences that are brave enough to tackle the issues that’ll affect them the most” (Simon 2015). Depression, and mental health in general, is a major part in the lives of millions. This interpretation of the movie differentiates Inside out from other movies meant for children. It bring mental illness to attention and aims at a younger audience. The article interprets that the goal of this children’s movies is to express your emotions instead of bottling them up and hopefully seeking help. They are hoping to inspire viewers to lean on other people and receive help or acknowledge and disclose these emotions to other people such as family or friends. An objection to the goal of this movie is that not all children will depict the role of Sadness in the main character’s life. Every child will have their own perspective of this movie. However, for the audiences who understand the goal of this children’s movie, it brings a new view to society.
Another way that influences society’s views and brings attention to depression is the amount of celebrities that came forward about having this mental illness. According to the article “Celebrities Changing the Stigma of Depression and Mental Illness” by Dr. Scott West (2015), another way that influences society’s view and attention on depression is the amount of celebrities that came forward about having different forms of mental illnesses. The process of bringing mental illness to attention began as Kate Middleton and Prince William came public to talk about the global acceptance of mental illnesses in charity events to speak to the press which not only brings attention of this issue in only certain areas. Aiding in this global acceptance, several famous actors, actresses, singers, politicians, and athletes have came forward to talk about their mental illness (West, 2015, para. 8). One of these celebrities includes the well known singer, Demi Lovato, who has struggled through several mental illnesses. According to Dr. West (2015), “She recently launched Be Vocal, a campaign to encourage individuals struggling with mental illness to be open and talk about what they are going through. ‘Together we can use our voices to advance mental health in America’ she proclaims.” Using career as her advantage to help people who are going through something similiar to her, Lovato is leading campaigns and publicly speaking about her struggles. This encourages people to talk about life problems and challenges they are facing. Using her lyrics as a tool as well, she is able to raise awareness and bring attention to mental illnesses through her viewers and fans, which are mostly adolescents, and as previously explained, they are prone to having symptoms of depression or getting hit with a feeling of sadness and hopelessness due to emotional challenges they are going through. An implication of the way Demi Lovato is hoping to help kids who may be struggling with a mental illness is IBDUJAB
Educational Lens
As supported through other lenses, there are several factors that play a role in depression and there are several aspects of life and activities that depression affects. Another impact that plays both, a role of depression and something affected by depression, is the education system. Beginning with the way education plays a role in depression, an article by Hattenstone (2013) discusses suicides that are linked to college debts. In Hattenstone’s article (2013), “23-year-old Thorn couldn’t cope with his debt: the bank had just informed him he would not be able to withdraw any more money. When he died, he was £3,000 overdrawn and had a £5,000 student loan to pay off. At his inquest, the coroner said it would be wrong to suggest he had killed himself simply because of his debt, but it was a major contributory factor.” Previously stated, a symptom of depression includes suicidal thoughts, which can lead to suicidal attempts. His student loans may not have been directly related to his suicide, but they definitely played a role that could’ve triggered his suicidal thoughts. Not being able to cope or pay off his student loans or even withdraw money from his bank account played a role in his suicide. With suicide being the second cause of deaths in colleges, education is linked to the minds of thousands of college students and adding to their struggles in life. A limitation to this information is the unknown information of what each individual is struggling through, separate from college. However, if someone is depressed, their education and how well they learn in affected.
Education can be affected by depression as well. When people struggle with a mental illness, such as depression, every aspect of their life is affected, including the way they think. According to Saringo-Rodriguez (2013), “In 2011, the ADAA’s national survey found more than 62 percent of students who withdrew from college with mental health problems did so because of an anxiety disorder.” This statistic portrays that the mental illness that affects an individual can cause them to drop out of college due to them being incapable of completing their education. According to Bipolar Disorder Centers (2016), the article “How Depression Affects Learning” states that the symptoms of depression that affect how well a child does in school includes feeling detached and bored from activities, struggle remembering details, and having low-self-esteem. Depression can also affect an individual’s thought process. All of these symptoms of depression affect the way a person deals with everyday challenges and stress. They get frustrated easily and may have trouble completing regular tasks in school due to problems with memory. Their self-hatred and frustration can make them feel as if they are incapable of doing something before they even try it. They may struggle to learn skills that every other non-depressed person in school has. A limitation can be the unknown comparison of how well people who are depressed do in school to people who do not struggle with depression. Some people may be more motivated to do well in school despite their mental health.
Conclusion
The issue of mental illnesses was brought to attention as John Oliver discussed the way people with a mental illnesses are viewed and where adults who were struggling with mental illnesses were placed, such as in jail cells or nursing homes. Depression can be caused by several factors in life such as struggles involving college debt and education. People who struggle with the mental illness, depression, experience symptoms such as lack of interest in activities, trouble remembering details, trouble concentrating, and negative effects on thought processes and making decisions. In conclusion, these symptoms affect someone’s daily life, such as how well they do in school, how they deal with challenges in life, and how they deal with constant feelings of sadness and hopelessness. More people should be aided in receiving treatment for depression and the issue should be brought to attention.
Solution
With depression being one of the most common mental illnesses in the United States, and many more celebrities bringing up this issue in society, scientists are hoping to bring attention to new ways to take treatments for depression so they can help more than one third of those people receive treatment. One way in which people can receive treatment if they suspect they’re depressed is by taking part in a clinical trial that accept participants with depression. Clinical trials for this mental illness are studies that are used to find new scientific information to “prevent, detect, or treat diseases and conditions” (NIMH, 2016). In these trials, some participants receive a new drug while others receive a placebo which is an inactive drug, to serve as part of the control group. This can be used if anyone is financially unstable and cannot afford to be seen or receive medication if they are depressed because people who take part in a clinical trial receive an incentive. Another possible solution is if someone is going through challenges in their life, they can call a number to speak to someone anonymously without being judged. An implication to this would be that if someone were to admit to have suicidal thoughts then the person on the other line is unable to physically prevent this person from committing suicide and cannot let any family member or friend know about the anonymous person’s suicidal thoughts.