As said by the late Will Rogers, a well-credited actor, ‘All I know is just what I read in the papers, and that's an alibi for my ignorance’ (Will Rogers Quotes). Ignorance, otherwise known as the lack of knowledge, is a trait that is consistent within every human on earth, in one way or another. Although this quote was said over 80 years ago, it is still extremely relevant today. Media, across the board, is likely the main influencer of public or common knowledge among the masses. This could cause unity and universal understanding, but more frequently, controversy, prejudice, semi-informed opinions, and conflict. These are all side effects or outcomes of the ignorance that is deriving out of the media from which it was absorbed in the first place.
With so many different forms of new outlets, there is a lot of information being taken in everyday by their audiences. This could be considered a good or bad thing. These outlets can use their platforms to discuss and showcase anything, but the most common topics tend to be about political, social, cultural, and economic conflict. As broad as these ideas can be, it is rare to see much insight on the subject matter of mental illness. In fact, it is not addressed very often at all; not in media, and not in real life either. In order to truly gain a decent understanding on mental illness, at least as someone without one, you would have to do some serious research, perhaps for a paper, similar to this one. Until you decide to do your research or maybe even become a professional in that field, you will forever be ignorant to the concept of mental health.
It is rather odd that people do not seemingly care much about mental health, considering an estimated 26.2 percent of people over 18 years old suffer from a diagnosed mental disorder annually, in the United States alone (Mental Illness Statistics). These 57.7 million people do not include the ones that go undiagnosed for years, possibly their entire lives. Again, these statistics leave out an entire group of people: teenagers. According to a 2010 report, approximately 49.5 percent of United States adolescents, ages ranging from 12 to 17, ‘met the criteria for mental health disorders’ (Youth Government). Despite this tragically high number, school systems seriously lack the desire to enlighten their students on this matter.
Specifically speaking for St. George’s Independent School, there are only two classes that discuss mental health at all: Psychology and Anatomy. These classes are only electives, or optional courses, which means that some students graduate without any knowledge whatsoever on mental health. This is an unfortunate situation because not all of the students will take these classes, which will leave them uninformed and will further their ignorance. Not only this, but because the classes are not committed solely on teaching about mental illness, the students that do or will take the courses will still not be as informed as they should be, thus leaving them at the hands of other alternatives to possibly become more knowledgeable. This ignorance could lead to serious problems for people later in life. Imagine a person with stage 3 pancreatic cancer never fully understanding what exactly their diagnosis does to their body or how to treat it. This is something that could easily and does easily happen to mental illness patients that do not obtain a proper education.
As someone who desires to learn more about their mental health, I did some investigating around this topic. For historical context, several documentaries about people with some of the disorders were chosen and reviewed for extra information. Two of the documentaries were specifically chosen to contrast the treatments of mental health patients over time. Along with the documentaries, many databases and a few books were chosen in order to, again, further my knowledge on mental health disorders, their causes, and their treatments. All of the historical context was chosen in order to get a good, educated foundation for when I analyze my works.
As for my works, eight movies, three television shows, five songs, and two books were selected in order to interpret and criticize their portrayals of the chosen disorders. Specifically, the movies range in time period and genre, all with varying degrees of accuracy. The television shows and books were picked to point out the romanticization in them, and whether it is morally right or wrong. The songs are more personal, demonstrating the singers’ perceptions of mental health or their own stories about it. Overall, the works all point in many separate directions, but originating from a similar place.
As I become more informed about mental health disorders, their relevance and vitality becomes more understood. However, not everyone will recognize this, and so, where does that leave them? The alternatives that the uninformed will be forced to turn to will be the media. This most likely means that all of the uneducated will be getting all of their information from the available news outlets. However these outlets depict mental health is how it will be believed among a lot of people. So, this leads to a single question: How does the media portray mental health disorders, and has it been accurate?
In order to obtain a good amount of information on the topic of mental health as a whole, I started with the basics: the disorders. Specifically, I looked into depression, various types of Bipolar Disorders, Schizophrenia, Anxiety Disorders, Sociopathic and Psychopathic Personality disorders, Dissociative Identity Disorder, and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder; although, there are over a hundred more (Mental Health America). It becomes important to be well-informed on the disorders so that my opinions on the works I analyze will not be biased. I am able to form stronger and more knowledgeable judgements with the information that I received.
To start off, I studied a disorder commonly known as depression, one of the more infamous illnesses. ‘Depression, in psychology, [is] a mood or emotional state that is marked by feelings of low self-worth or guilt and a reduced ability to enjoy life’ (Encyclop”dia Britannica). Nearly 16 million American adults are affected by some form of depression every year (Mental Health America). Some of the most common symptoms of this disorder are chronic sadness, lack of energy, social withdrawal, significant weight loss or gain, significant change in sleep patterns from scarce amounts of sleep to excessive sleep, thoughts of suicide or self-harm, etcetera (Mental Health Information for Teens: Health Tips about Mental Wellness and Mental Illness 77,78).
Depression comes in many forms, as it can be a completely different experience for each person who is affected by it. For some, depressed emotions can occur sporadically at a low level for several years, while for others, it can hit hard, lasting for multiple weeks straight. The more severe of those two examples is often diagnosed as Major Depressive Disorder, while the less severe, yet typically longer version is normally diagnosed as Dysthymia. Another main form of depression is referred to as Adjustment Disorder with Depressed Mood. This diagnosis is the result of a traumatic event, such as a death or some other form of loss. Although these forms of depression are not the only ones, they are the most common and impactful ones (Mental Health Information for Teens: Health Tips about Mental Wellness and Mental Illness 77).
As for the causes of this disorder, there is no single source for depression. There are many elements that could play a large role in the symptoms of the illness. The most consistent and common elements include environment, medical conditions, life events, certain thinking patterns that affect a person’s reaction to events, or even genetics. Specifically, death of a loved one, homelessness or poverty, and stressful family environment are all viable reasons for someone to become depressed. A common misconception about having depression is that the illness can be directly passed through genetics. This is actually incorrect, for research reveals that ‘some people inherit genes that make it more likely for them to get depressed’, rather than directly receiving it. This means that it is very possible for people with depression running in their family to live their entire lives without it, despite what genes they may inherit. Overall, depression is never caused by one single thing, but several adding up to something bigger (Mental Health Information for Teens: Health Tips about Mental Wellness and Mental Illness 75).
Next, I researched bipolar disorder, otherwise known as manic-depressive illness. Over two million people in America suffer from this disorder annually. Bipolar Disorder ‘is a mental illness involving episodes of serious mania and depression’ (Mental Health Information for Teens: Health Tips about Mental Wellness and Mental Illness 101). In simpler terms, bipolar disorder is an illness that can greatly affect someone’s mood or mental state, causing them to feel a variety of emotions varying from irritable to sad and hopeless. Mood swings become an everyday cycle for the people with this disorder, which becomes hard on their social life, friends, family, etcetera. Bipolar disorder usually starts in adolescence, and continues to be a large part of the person’s life. It cannot be cured, but with prescribed medicines, the symptoms can be controlled or at least tamed, so that manic episodes will not occur (Mental Health Information for Teens: Health Tips about Mental Wellness and Mental Illness 101).
Within this mental illness, there are an incredible amount of side effects that may come from it, due to its variety in behavior. Some of these symptoms include increased energy and activity, extreme irritability or distractibility, decreased or increased need for sleep, adamant denial, sadness or anxiety, extreme loss or gain of appetite and weight, chronic pain not typically caused by a physical disease, or even thoughts of death and suicide. These are just a select few of the many symptoms that may occur (Mental Health Information for Teens: Health Tips about Mental Wellness and Mental Illness 101, 102).
When bipolar disorder is not treated, the symptoms only escalate. Especially in children, occasional episodes of hypomania, ‘a less serious version of a fully developed manic episode’, can come about due to lack of the prescribed medication (The Encyclopedia of Schizophrenia and Other Psychotic Disorders 170). Besides the hypomanic episodes, it can become extremely difficult to control one’s emotions or mood swings at all. This is where behavioral problems take place, causing them to act out improperly. This ‘acting out’ can range from poor work or school performance to the abuse of substances, particularly cocaine, alcohol, and sleeping medications. From then on, an untreated bipolar patient may go on a downward spiral, leaving them with an abundance of problems.
The causes for this illness are very specific ones, primarily scientific. The main reasons someone may have bipolar disorder are cellular/molecular, genetic, neurological, psychological, social, and environmental. It is believed to run through families, being passed on directly, for generations. It has been found to have strong hereditary tendencies, otherwise referred to as genetic. There is also a study that hypothesizes that the change in activity within certain cells and molecules in one’s brain can cause the extreme highs and lows in the mood swings. Neurologically, brain-related abnormalities could also be the culprits behind the diagnosis. These could include a reduced total cerebral volume and a decrease in the size of the medial temporal lobe. Psychologically, socially, and environmentally all revolve around the same idea that one’s state of being and what all is around them can greatly affect their mental condition. ‘Most studies that have been done are based on the theory of the mania being a defensive or compensatory reaction to severe depression [or one’s environment]’ (Mental Health Information for Teens: Health Tips about Mental Wellness and Mental Illness 104).
Bipolar disorder is typically diagnosed in stages, I or II, excluding cyclothymic disorder. Stage I of bipolar disorder is the less severe version of it. ‘A patient should have suffered from at least one manic episode [in their lifetime]’ (Mental Health Information for Teens: Health Tips about Mental Wellness and Mental Illness 106). As for the stage II diagnosis, ‘a patient must be suffering from or have a history of suffering from at least one major depressive or hypomanic episode, and he/she must never have suffered a manic or mixed episode’ (Mental Health Information for Teens: Health Tips about Mental Wellness and Mental Illness 106). These two stages or actually significantly different because someone who has stage I is a lot more likely to be able to overcome or be able to live with it without much medical attention. Whereas for someone who is diagnosed with the stage II disorder, the episodes they have experienced will cause profusion of distress or lack of functioning in their life. Stage II take much more of a toll on the patient’s life, and makes it much more difficult to live their everyday life. Another version of bipolar disorder is cyclothymia, a mild form of the illness, typically classified by incessant mood swings that differ from moderate depression to absolute mania. These symptoms can expectedly last up to two years straight! Cyclothymia can be treated with a combination of medications such as antidepressants and antimanic drugs. Bipolar disorder, once diagnosed, will never go away, but it can easily be treated and tamed with the proper help.
After studying bipolar disorder, I read a lot about Schizophrenia, ‘a serious illness that affects the brain and causes major problems with thinking, emotions, and behavior’ (Everything You Need to Know About Schizophrenia 9). This disorder affects approximately one percent of people across the globe, with 3.2 million Americans being diagnosed per year. One of the most common stereotypes of a schizophrenic person is that they hear voices. This stereotype is actually very true. Schizophrenic people can sometimes hear voices and noises that no one else can. Not only this, but they may think that others are reading their mind or plotting against them, leaving them extremely paranoid and agitated.