Mental illness then becomes desensitized because “everybody has it.” Having a mental illness doesn’t make you tragic or beautiful. The reason that these people are so insufferable is because we are associating discontentment and mental illness in a dangerous way. We can’t control what the media portrays, nor can we control what people post and share, and we cannot stop people from profiting off it. From the tip of every branch, like a fat purple fig, a wonderful future beckoned and winked…I saw myself sitting in the crotch of this fig tree, starving to death, just because I couldn’t make up my mind which of the figs I would choose.” Here, Plath hits right on the difference between discontentment and depression I’ve been discussing: the ability to see the opportunities around you and feel unable to pursue any of them. Many years ago mental illnesses were a taboo topic that was rarely discussed and those who suffered were misunderstood. Or come to our weekly meetings at McGinley 2nd floor, every Tuesday at 9pm! It’s not something that can be easily fixed or suddenly disappear, and although 21st-century media is steadily becoming more open-minded and realistic in its portrayal and understanding of mental health, there’s still stigma surrounding mental disorders. This is a controversial topic, but the tapes make it seem like Hannah wanted revenge. To examine the confusion over mental illness, let’s pick apart one of the aforementioned examples of brilliant authors committing suicide, namely, Plath. And although mental illness is stigmatized, the portrayal of it in film, tv shows, and social media is not. French Election Proves to be Contentious and Divisive for Everyone, A Spotlight Review of Morrone’s Pastry Shop, Big Mouth: A Show I Wish I Watched in Middle School. Mental illness is made out to be glamorous or romantic due to the way it is represented within media; some believe that mental illness is something that will differentiate them the crowd or make them unique or special, when in reality mental illness is a large burden on the lives of those suffering through it. You probably don’t want it, but it’s okay that you have it, but you wouldn’t want it printed into your t-shirts. Hell, we should all be a little discontented; it’s one of those facets of doubt or skepticism that keeps us from working in inefficient systems, committing atrocities, etc.. Both of them have used their combined knowledge of mental illness, psychology and love of film to come up with 6 of the most popular movies that get both the science and the realities of mental illness wrong. Purpose Mental illness has become an important public health issue in society, and media are the most common sources of information about mental illnesses. Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. These people are starting discussions about mental illness by using clothing lines but can be easily achieved in other ways that aren’t taking people’s money and “glamorizing” mental health. I’m not saying that the act of suicide was romanticized, but rather that the effects it has on the people around them and almost a twisted act of revenge. I have posted the link below in case you would like to read the whole report for yourself. But it seems that the movement to de-stigmatize them has gotten horrifically confused with a movement to romanticize them. It is great that many more people have been educated about mental illness, and the stigma of mental health to slowly fade away. If individuals begin to receive medical treatment for a mental illness that they don’t have, they may become dependent or … Mental illness is a type of affliction on a person just like anything physical, and should be treated and addressed as such. And the rise of romanticizing mental illness has begun. Making a video talking about mental illness can help. An evolution of the different/hipster guy, the sad boy is often portrayed as a “misunderstood genius,” who has difficulty relating to others just because he’s so gosh-darn brooding and mysterious. A wonderful quote from Plath’s The Bell Jar brilliantly depicts depression in a few phrases: “I saw my life branching out before me like the green fig tree in the story. There is absolutely nothing romantic about a mental disorder. If you notice derogatory and stigmatizing language in the media, you can be the person to contact the news station or journalist and let them know. I was diagnosed with a mental illness at the age of 16. There is a very distinct line between marketing towards a certain demographic and providing awareness. Mental illness and low self-esteem are terrible things. Basically, they’re being portrayed as more intelligent because they are sad. On these sites, users utilize mental illness … If all of the profits were being donated to a charity it would be better, but most of the time it’s a small amount like 15%, like what Corinna did. While nothing is wrong with coping with humor, before sharing a meme about mental health, think about whether it sends a good or bad message. Regardless, the sad boy has been successfully promulgated by many people confusing discontent with depression or other mental health issues. Messages like this being posted on social media which depict eating disorders as strength of mind and ‘self control’ are truly disgusting. Not everything needs to be about merch and money. For a $60 hoodie, that’s only $9. So if you did something unintentionally, you shouldn’t be one of the reasons someone suicides. People who just walk around discontented with everything, I think we can all agree (even though I myself am one of them quite often), are pretty damn insufferable at times. “Pain and mental illness are seen as beautiful and even encouraged.” McGarrell believes that users on social media websites, such as the blogging platform Tumblr, have taken to glorifying disorders such as anxiety, anorexia or other mental illnesses. While she’s donating to charity and that’s great but it was only 15%. Mental Health is, unfortunately, still a novel concept for what we consider a postmodern society. But it isn’t something someone should be proud of. What Is “Relationship OCD” & How Can You Tell If You Have It, Psychotherapy’s Got an Unpleasant Image Problem, Mental Health Carnage: the Relentless Misunderstanding of Autistic Persons. This is not me—a person with a mental illness— saying that people like me have a monopoly on discontentment. It might have accidentally given the wrong idea to the viewer. Suddenly, mental illness was seen as beautiful. One quote which I think frames these attitudes quite aptly is a tagline from some rapper who was trying to get famous through Facebook, in which he asks, “why is every rapper depressed or fake deep?” (I wish I could cite this but his flash in the pan is likely over). The Romanticism of Mental illness Posted on January 19, 2015 by mancunianmatters As a sufferer of mental illness myself the way mental illness is depicted on social media and by society is delusional and a fallacy. There is a lot about mental health in the media, it is portrayed in many different ways in the media.However it is now becoming more mental health-friendly than it was before where there was a lot of stigma in the media towards mental illness and those who suffer with illnesses. What makes this scenario even scarier is the great romanticization created towards the healing process. Profiting off people with mental illnesses and marketing towards consumers with these issues. Normalization and popularization of mental illness can contribute to distorted ideas and assumptions and even make mental illness into a fad. I remember turning to the mass-media, and seeing evidence of romanticized mental illness there as well. Organizations like NAMI have worked to create the I Will Listen Project in an effort to help break through the stigma and the misconceptions surrounding mental illness. Charles also explains that a recent study proved that in 2011, there was a dramatic increase in depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts or actions, right around the time social media really took off. Contrary to the younger generations, older generations did not have the same peak in mental illness and/or suicidal tendencies. In fact, many TV shows and films have an alarmingly poor grasp on what it really means to have a mental illness and perpetuate harmful stereotypes that feed the stigmas attached to it. Talk about this. Plath realizes that the lives are out there in front of her if she so chooses to pursue them, but she can’t, and turns the errors she perceives about life upon herself. What romanticisation does is that it creates a glamorous and fancy portrayal of mental illness. It can hinder them from receiving the real help they need. With social media being such a big thing now, teenagers are sharing memes about mental illness, and some even self-diagnosing themselves with depression to be “quirky”. Twenty years later, it seems that Veronica’s important criticism has still fallen on deaf ears: mental illness and suicide continues to be romanticized in the media. But the truth is, not all depictions of mental health in the media are healthy. Making donations to reputable companies that help with mental illness helps. Editor’s Note: The following post contains spoilers for the movies mentioned. But with developing social media platforms, it has also caused the rising of romanticizing mental illness. Article updated on April 10, 2020. The mental health space can be difficult for many people to understand. Society is ingrained with prejudice toward mental illness, and sufferers are often widely perceived to be dangerous or unpredictable. There is a huge stigma surrounding mental illness. In social media especially, romanticization of mental illness is becoming increasingly prominent, especially on platforms such as Tumblr. Pitch us your article ideas via this fancy link right here: Finding movies about mental health — especially ones that accurately represent what it’s like to live with mental illness — can often be difficult. It’s great to see the producers show the detrimental effects of suicide on the people around and the negative effects it has. While this open online discussion can help foster a sense of community, there has also been a trend of treating mental illness like it’s something that should be sought-after. And most of these are just trying to profit off people that are suffering. But with mainstream media, more and more people feel like having a mental illness is a norm. They need to spread positive awareness, not fashion statements. Contrary to many beliefs, social media cannot be your therapy. Many are drawn to the tragic stories of those who suffer from mental illness, who are accompanied by their loving, understanding, and supportive partners. It’s great to start conversations about mental illnesses, removing the stigma, and spread awareness. I think we can all put a little extra thought into what we put out into the world. These sad boy archetype characters are discontented with the state of things yet never seem to want to work to change them. The no-name rapper is most likely citing the recent success of rappers like Kendrick Lamar, Earl Sweatshirt, Mick Jenkins, and others. Romanticizing of mental illness is the depiction of it as glamorous and fanciful. Romance Shouldn't Kill You I plan on going to CSU Long beach to pursue a career in film I am open about my mental illness and how it affects me personally To describe a mental illness in a way The National Institution of Health has something to say about this as well. Demographics is another aspect of mental illness that is often misrepresented by media portrayals of mental illness. The field of mental health was becoming open to exploration, in part because investigations into King George III’s madness in 1798 had made it fashionable to be a physician with an interest in mental health, or so Ann C. Colley writes in Tennyson and Madness (University of Georgia Press, 1983, 11). Pain equals pain, and #painisntpretty. People merchandising it is kind of sick. Enter: the “sad boy” archetype. ( Log Out /  Social media and internet blogs could be used as a proper tool. Romanticism of mental illnesses. She is collecting way more for herself than actually helping and donating. We need to stop propagating romantic and glorified images of people battling apparently ‘beautiful’ illnesses. Don’t get me wrong I’m not saying that it’s something to be ashamed of but rather why would someone be proud of something that is negatively affecting their life. have all been addressed to some degree, remnants of our society’s overall dismissal of the validity of mental illness have evolved (rather than rejected), as our relationship with mental illness has developed. Do not self-diagnose yourself, if you feel like something is wrong, go to a psychologist and get a clinical diagnosis and get the proper treatment and help you need. But having Hannah (The one that suicides) around during the show was problematic. According to the UK’s leading mental health charity, MIND, 1 in 4 people in the UK will experience a mental health problem each year. But were these people even diagnosed? ... Latest developments such as social media can be useful ways of communicating with others to help overpower the struggles they can cause and allows people to come together and support each other which can be an important contribution to a person's recovery. And that is dangerously tragic in itself. Tumblr, a social media site that allows users to blog and express themselves, often fetishizes mental illness. For some reason the accolades of these more successful rappers are not valid because they are “depressed,” or rather, they are using the romanticization of mental illness to their advantage, at least in this rapper’s eyes. Unfortunately, these archetypes played upon a certain, flawed association that we make in contemporary society: that discontent is the same as depression. The other 75% is going straight to her bank accounts and for her to spend. Usually, on movies, a romantic bond is developed and strengthened over the gentle cares of the loved one towards ill person and love magically cures everything. These influencers sometimes don’t understand the amount of influence they have over others. The way mental illness is portrayed and reported in the media is incredibly powerful in educating and influencing the public. In India by the most conservative estimates, at least 5% of the population lives with a mental illness, which translates to over 50 million people. 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