How does the media's portrayal of mental illness differ from the reality?
Photo Essay
GCO: 7,8
Ted Talk/Double Entry Journal
GCO: 6
Passages:
-"The World Health Organization has estimated that twenty percent of the world's population suffers from mental disorder at some point in their life time, that's one in five people, over 70 million Americans, a billion people worldwide." Although the number of people that have suffered from mental illness appears to be extremely high, there is no doubt in my mind that is true. I have had many people close to me in my life suffer from a mental disorder and I know of many others around me that have too. Mental illness is something i see everyday whether that be with some of my family members or people i see at school. This number may come to a surprise to some people because of the way the media portrays mental illness, the media singles out people with mental illness and makes it look like it is uncommon. People with mental illness will see what the media says and it will make them feel lonely and that no one can help them. I have never suffered with mental illness myself, but from the people closest to me that have, I have heard about just how lonely it can be and how it feels like no one in the world is having the same problem as you even though there are so many people that do have mental illnesses.
-"I find it particularly ironic that while people suffered from mental disorders throughout human history because of the fact we had no knowledge and limited to no effective treatments. In the 21st century, when we do have treatments, the biggest barriers are lack of awareness, lack of access to care, and stigma." The society that we live in now is extremely attracted to the media and what the media says, our society is influenced heavily by the media. In the media, mental illness is often portrayed poorly and as something to be scared of admitting you are living with, I have seen this on many occasions in different TV shows and movies. I believe that some kids, especially in high school, that are living with mental illness are scared of being shunned by their peers if they admit that they are living with mental illness. I have seen how hard it can be to tell the people closest to someone that they have a mental disorder and how hard it can be for the people around them as well. I also have seen how much lack of awareness there is for different mental illnesses, and even I have had cases where I just didn't understand something about a mental illness. For example, there was one time one of my friends had an anxiety attack and had to leave school, I didn't really know what that meant or what an anxiety attack consisted of so I was left wondering what happened and how I could show my support for my friend. This was a very strange moment for me and made me question the amount of awareness there is for different mental illnesses and how I could learn more about mental disorders.
-"So if there were no stigma, we could launch a public health initiative against mental illness like we've done before successfully such as with infectious diseases, heart disease, with environment toxins like asbestos, lead, and smoking." This is a great idea and is definitely something I have seen an increase in recently. Especially in my high school years, there has been many initiatives to raise awareness for mental illness, it is something that has become more normal to talk about because of these initiatives. In years past, mental health just wasn't talked about it was something that people would try to avoid as much as possible because it was a field they didn't have any knowledge in. In the media I have also seen people launch initiatives with many celebrities being open about their mental illnesses. This has really helped people be more aware of mental health and has forced people to be become more knowledgeable about the subject.
-"I'm speaking here particularly about the mass violent incidents that have increasingly occurred. Too many of these incidents have been perpetrated by young males largely who are mentally ill and manifest their symptoms long before they committed their crime. They acted strangely, they were in emotional distress, they were socially isolated but nobody reached out to them for help. Instead, they were shunned, ridiculed, or feared." The media often portrayed people with mental illness to be "crazy" and "not normal", this caused people to be afraid of people with mental illness in real life and to treat them like they weren't real people. This could eventually lead these victims down dark paths because no one picked up on the signs and there was no help them. This is something that I have witnessed in my own life. Someone close to me was diagnosed with depression in recent years and sadly it didn't come by surprise to me, it all clicked in my head once this information was revealed to me. I had spent a lot of time with this person and they were always so distant and hard to communicate with since they never wanted to speak. They also isolated them self all the time which was a real change from what they used to be before. These were all signs that this person suffered with depression but I never picked up on them. Luckily, this person got help and wasn't led down a dark path like others have unfortunately done, but I would have better if I had been able to realize what was going on sooner. Lack of awareness on my part was really to blame there and I'm happy to see that there is a lot of awareness for mental health in my life now.
-"So how can we stop the suffering, the violence, the stigma? We have to begin by recognizing mental illness for what it is, a medical condition that can be treated like we do physical illness." This is something that still needs work on, most of the media fails to see mental illness in this fashion and that has a large influence on how people understand mental illness. Most people don't talk about mental illnesses like they do physical illnesses, I believe this is because the media sometimes portrays mental illnesses to have a "crazy" effect on people and cause them to act weirdly. Because of this, people begin to view mental patients as people that can't be helped and that can't be normal. I used to carry this thought process for some mental illnesses, I never really understood them so some people came across as crazies to me opposed to what they really were, people who had an illness and just needed help.
-"The World Health Organization has estimated that twenty percent of the world's population suffers from mental disorder at some point in their life time, that's one in five people, over 70 million Americans, a billion people worldwide." Although the number of people that have suffered from mental illness appears to be extremely high, there is no doubt in my mind that is true. I have had many people close to me in my life suffer from a mental disorder and I know of many others around me that have too. Mental illness is something i see everyday whether that be with some of my family members or people i see at school. This number may come to a surprise to some people because of the way the media portrays mental illness, the media singles out people with mental illness and makes it look like it is uncommon. People with mental illness will see what the media says and it will make them feel lonely and that no one can help them. I have never suffered with mental illness myself, but from the people closest to me that have, I have heard about just how lonely it can be and how it feels like no one in the world is having the same problem as you even though there are so many people that do have mental illnesses.
-"I find it particularly ironic that while people suffered from mental disorders throughout human history because of the fact we had no knowledge and limited to no effective treatments. In the 21st century, when we do have treatments, the biggest barriers are lack of awareness, lack of access to care, and stigma." The society that we live in now is extremely attracted to the media and what the media says, our society is influenced heavily by the media. In the media, mental illness is often portrayed poorly and as something to be scared of admitting you are living with, I have seen this on many occasions in different TV shows and movies. I believe that some kids, especially in high school, that are living with mental illness are scared of being shunned by their peers if they admit that they are living with mental illness. I have seen how hard it can be to tell the people closest to someone that they have a mental disorder and how hard it can be for the people around them as well. I also have seen how much lack of awareness there is for different mental illnesses, and even I have had cases where I just didn't understand something about a mental illness. For example, there was one time one of my friends had an anxiety attack and had to leave school, I didn't really know what that meant or what an anxiety attack consisted of so I was left wondering what happened and how I could show my support for my friend. This was a very strange moment for me and made me question the amount of awareness there is for different mental illnesses and how I could learn more about mental disorders.
-"So if there were no stigma, we could launch a public health initiative against mental illness like we've done before successfully such as with infectious diseases, heart disease, with environment toxins like asbestos, lead, and smoking." This is a great idea and is definitely something I have seen an increase in recently. Especially in my high school years, there has been many initiatives to raise awareness for mental illness, it is something that has become more normal to talk about because of these initiatives. In years past, mental health just wasn't talked about it was something that people would try to avoid as much as possible because it was a field they didn't have any knowledge in. In the media I have also seen people launch initiatives with many celebrities being open about their mental illnesses. This has really helped people be more aware of mental health and has forced people to be become more knowledgeable about the subject.
-"I'm speaking here particularly about the mass violent incidents that have increasingly occurred. Too many of these incidents have been perpetrated by young males largely who are mentally ill and manifest their symptoms long before they committed their crime. They acted strangely, they were in emotional distress, they were socially isolated but nobody reached out to them for help. Instead, they were shunned, ridiculed, or feared." The media often portrayed people with mental illness to be "crazy" and "not normal", this caused people to be afraid of people with mental illness in real life and to treat them like they weren't real people. This could eventually lead these victims down dark paths because no one picked up on the signs and there was no help them. This is something that I have witnessed in my own life. Someone close to me was diagnosed with depression in recent years and sadly it didn't come by surprise to me, it all clicked in my head once this information was revealed to me. I had spent a lot of time with this person and they were always so distant and hard to communicate with since they never wanted to speak. They also isolated them self all the time which was a real change from what they used to be before. These were all signs that this person suffered with depression but I never picked up on them. Luckily, this person got help and wasn't led down a dark path like others have unfortunately done, but I would have better if I had been able to realize what was going on sooner. Lack of awareness on my part was really to blame there and I'm happy to see that there is a lot of awareness for mental health in my life now.
-"So how can we stop the suffering, the violence, the stigma? We have to begin by recognizing mental illness for what it is, a medical condition that can be treated like we do physical illness." This is something that still needs work on, most of the media fails to see mental illness in this fashion and that has a large influence on how people understand mental illness. Most people don't talk about mental illnesses like they do physical illnesses, I believe this is because the media sometimes portrays mental illnesses to have a "crazy" effect on people and cause them to act weirdly. Because of this, people begin to view mental patients as people that can't be helped and that can't be normal. I used to carry this thought process for some mental illnesses, I never really understood them so some people came across as crazies to me opposed to what they really were, people who had an illness and just needed help.
Comparison: Article vs Poem
Mental Illness
GCO: 4
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1.Article:"Depression can affect anyone-even a person who appears to live in ideal circumstances."
Poem: "Surrounded by people yet all alone"
-In both of these writing pieces, the authors speak to how even people who seem like they have positive people and emotions around them at all times can still be greatly affected by mental illness and in particular depression. It is important that both of these pieces recognize this as it is often something that is not shown in films and shows. Too often do movies show someone with depression that climbs their way out of the hole just because they have people around them that care a lot about them, which unfortunately isn't reality.
2.Article: "Depression symptoms can vary from mild to severe and include: thoughts of death or suicide."
Poem: "Suicide is the easy answer many times I've tried"
-Committing suicide and having suicidal thoughts is something that is present in both pieces of writing. The authors put suicide in to their writing in order to show the true severity that depression can have on someones well being and on their mental health. Although suicide is put into into the writings, it does not go hand in hand with depression which is a common misconception. Many people think that having depression automatically equals suicidal thoughts because it is so often shown that way in films and shows, and as well as in novels and poems like in this one.
3.Article: "Depression symptoms can vary from mild to severe and include: difficulty thinking, concentrating or making decisions."
Poem: "Unable to distinguish what's real from what's fiction"
-What the author of the poem meant when she said she couldn't distinguish what's real from fiction was that she was so overcome by her depression that she wasn't able to think clearly and make rationale decisions because everything in her mind began to blend. It is important that both of these pieces addressed the way depression can turn someones mind and make them think irrationally. This is something that is one of the biggest parts of depression for many people and not too many people think is a part of depression.
4.Poem: "Who knows what my fate will be, Heaven and Hell are both fair games, Will I succumb to peace or fall down in shame"
- One of the major differences between the poem and the article was that the poem spoke about the hopelessness that someone with depression feels. The article never spoke about how hopelessness might be one of the symptoms of depression whereas the poem heavily addressed it. That hopeless feeling is something that is prominent among people who are depressed and this poem does a good job at showing what that can feel like.
Poem: "Surrounded by people yet all alone"
-In both of these writing pieces, the authors speak to how even people who seem like they have positive people and emotions around them at all times can still be greatly affected by mental illness and in particular depression. It is important that both of these pieces recognize this as it is often something that is not shown in films and shows. Too often do movies show someone with depression that climbs their way out of the hole just because they have people around them that care a lot about them, which unfortunately isn't reality.
2.Article: "Depression symptoms can vary from mild to severe and include: thoughts of death or suicide."
Poem: "Suicide is the easy answer many times I've tried"
-Committing suicide and having suicidal thoughts is something that is present in both pieces of writing. The authors put suicide in to their writing in order to show the true severity that depression can have on someones well being and on their mental health. Although suicide is put into into the writings, it does not go hand in hand with depression which is a common misconception. Many people think that having depression automatically equals suicidal thoughts because it is so often shown that way in films and shows, and as well as in novels and poems like in this one.
3.Article: "Depression symptoms can vary from mild to severe and include: difficulty thinking, concentrating or making decisions."
Poem: "Unable to distinguish what's real from what's fiction"
-What the author of the poem meant when she said she couldn't distinguish what's real from fiction was that she was so overcome by her depression that she wasn't able to think clearly and make rationale decisions because everything in her mind began to blend. It is important that both of these pieces addressed the way depression can turn someones mind and make them think irrationally. This is something that is one of the biggest parts of depression for many people and not too many people think is a part of depression.
4.Poem: "Who knows what my fate will be, Heaven and Hell are both fair games, Will I succumb to peace or fall down in shame"
- One of the major differences between the poem and the article was that the poem spoke about the hopelessness that someone with depression feels. The article never spoke about how hopelessness might be one of the symptoms of depression whereas the poem heavily addressed it. That hopeless feeling is something that is prominent among people who are depressed and this poem does a good job at showing what that can feel like.
Discussion with Emma MacMillan
GCO: 1,2,3
Me: Do you believe that the media accurately portrays mental illness? What do they do wrong? How might they improve their portrayals?
Emma: No, they portray them to be crazy instead of struggling with a mental illness, instead of just saying that they’re crazy they need to explain what is going on with them, especially for eating disorders, they just say that the girl wants to be skinny instead of showing the struggle she goes through like her hair falling out or the weakness of her joints. Schizophrenia too, in the visit the people with schizophrenia are the antagonists and are inflicting harm on the children but it doesn’t show what they hear or see in their heads and a lot of people with schizophrenia have auditory hallucinations and it can make it hard to differ reality from inside your head.
Me: Have you ever been offended by a media's portrayal of mental illness?
Emma: Not really in the large media but more so in social media like on Tumblr where they tend to glorify mental illnesses that upsets me. The way movies portray mental illnesses is usually seen as sinister, they’re evil people, but it’s for entertainment and not the education of mental health but in social media when people post pictures of their cuts, it is encouraging self-harm and is showing that it can be good.
Me: Is it possible for TV shows and movies to portray mental illness correctly?
Emma: I think that they have to emphasize the negatives of mental health because everything in movies and TV shows is exaggerated. Movies and TV shows aren’t real life so mental illness in movies in TV shows can’t be real either. With any movie or TV show or movie, mental health is exaggerated to draw a larger crowd in order to make money. But on the other hand it is someone’s life so it feels wrong to exploit the negatives. What do you think?
Me: No I don’t because people don’t watch to see a regular person live their lives, even with reality TV, that’s all scripted because it would be boring to see actual people live. So when it comes to making TV show and movies realistic, it is tough for producers and directors to do since they’d make no money. 13 Reasons Why: Was it portrayed well? I think it was portrayed pretty well, many people that I have talked to question why Hannah seemed to overreact to little situations and I believe that it is because those small moments were big in her brain. Because she suffered from a mental illness, her brain didn’t react to situations like others would so the little overreactions to situations all added up in to one big problem.
Me: How would you explain what depression is? Does that differ from what the media shows depression is?
Emma: Depression I think is like being lost in your own mind and no matter how hard you try to climb out of the hole of your emotions, you keep slipping deeper and deeper. The media tends to portray it as a beautiful sadness when you’re too sad to get out of bed so people bring you flowers and ice cream whereas it is actually you can’t get out of bed and you haven’t showered in a couple weeks because getting from your bed to the shower is too draining. I also feel that the media portrays depression as always being suicidal when in reality you can be one without the other.
Me: Studies show that 3.2 million Canadians between the age of 12 and 19 are at a chance of developing depression, why do you believe that mental illness is such a prominent thing amongst youth?
Emma: Social media. Firstly, there is a lot of false portrayal in social media, people post pictures of themselves or events and the square you see on your screen isn’t the full picture. This makes people want to post better pictures than everyone else, this is a standard that wasn’t around 10 years ago which I think is a cause of depression in teenagers because they’re adding more pressure on themselves to be the best or post the best pictures and it is pointless. Secondly, when someone has a negative post this exposes all of their friends to their sadness which creates a ripple effect. For example: if someone on my team were to be having a rough night and posted a photo Elizabeth with a sad caption it creates a butterfly effect where all the other girls on the team will be upset because it isn’t something you were thinking of before but after seeing the post it envelopes your thoughts, which is very difficult to get away from. What are your thoughts on this?
Me: I believe that youth get so caught up in making themselves seem so great even if that involves being fake, like you said. So when something doesn’t go so great for them, they don’t know how to react to it and it sends them into a downward spiral where they don’t how to react to anything negative that comes their way. It also doesn’t help that social media has added a new way for kids to be put down and bullied. It is way too simple for someone to comment or message something negative to another person that can instantly ruin that person’s day. I believe that is one of many roots for why a lot of kids have depression.
Emma: No, they portray them to be crazy instead of struggling with a mental illness, instead of just saying that they’re crazy they need to explain what is going on with them, especially for eating disorders, they just say that the girl wants to be skinny instead of showing the struggle she goes through like her hair falling out or the weakness of her joints. Schizophrenia too, in the visit the people with schizophrenia are the antagonists and are inflicting harm on the children but it doesn’t show what they hear or see in their heads and a lot of people with schizophrenia have auditory hallucinations and it can make it hard to differ reality from inside your head.
Me: Have you ever been offended by a media's portrayal of mental illness?
Emma: Not really in the large media but more so in social media like on Tumblr where they tend to glorify mental illnesses that upsets me. The way movies portray mental illnesses is usually seen as sinister, they’re evil people, but it’s for entertainment and not the education of mental health but in social media when people post pictures of their cuts, it is encouraging self-harm and is showing that it can be good.
Me: Is it possible for TV shows and movies to portray mental illness correctly?
Emma: I think that they have to emphasize the negatives of mental health because everything in movies and TV shows is exaggerated. Movies and TV shows aren’t real life so mental illness in movies in TV shows can’t be real either. With any movie or TV show or movie, mental health is exaggerated to draw a larger crowd in order to make money. But on the other hand it is someone’s life so it feels wrong to exploit the negatives. What do you think?
Me: No I don’t because people don’t watch to see a regular person live their lives, even with reality TV, that’s all scripted because it would be boring to see actual people live. So when it comes to making TV show and movies realistic, it is tough for producers and directors to do since they’d make no money. 13 Reasons Why: Was it portrayed well? I think it was portrayed pretty well, many people that I have talked to question why Hannah seemed to overreact to little situations and I believe that it is because those small moments were big in her brain. Because she suffered from a mental illness, her brain didn’t react to situations like others would so the little overreactions to situations all added up in to one big problem.
Me: How would you explain what depression is? Does that differ from what the media shows depression is?
Emma: Depression I think is like being lost in your own mind and no matter how hard you try to climb out of the hole of your emotions, you keep slipping deeper and deeper. The media tends to portray it as a beautiful sadness when you’re too sad to get out of bed so people bring you flowers and ice cream whereas it is actually you can’t get out of bed and you haven’t showered in a couple weeks because getting from your bed to the shower is too draining. I also feel that the media portrays depression as always being suicidal when in reality you can be one without the other.
Me: Studies show that 3.2 million Canadians between the age of 12 and 19 are at a chance of developing depression, why do you believe that mental illness is such a prominent thing amongst youth?
Emma: Social media. Firstly, there is a lot of false portrayal in social media, people post pictures of themselves or events and the square you see on your screen isn’t the full picture. This makes people want to post better pictures than everyone else, this is a standard that wasn’t around 10 years ago which I think is a cause of depression in teenagers because they’re adding more pressure on themselves to be the best or post the best pictures and it is pointless. Secondly, when someone has a negative post this exposes all of their friends to their sadness which creates a ripple effect. For example: if someone on my team were to be having a rough night and posted a photo Elizabeth with a sad caption it creates a butterfly effect where all the other girls on the team will be upset because it isn’t something you were thinking of before but after seeing the post it envelopes your thoughts, which is very difficult to get away from. What are your thoughts on this?
Me: I believe that youth get so caught up in making themselves seem so great even if that involves being fake, like you said. So when something doesn’t go so great for them, they don’t know how to react to it and it sends them into a downward spiral where they don’t how to react to anything negative that comes their way. It also doesn’t help that social media has added a new way for kids to be put down and bullied. It is way too simple for someone to comment or message something negative to another person that can instantly ruin that person’s day. I believe that is one of many roots for why a lot of kids have depression.
The Necessity of Poor Mental Illness Portrayals
GCO: 9,10
Mental illness is one of the most prominent issues people face today in their everyday lives. It is something that is seen every day through people living with it or by examples shown in the media, even though the media portrays mental illness in a wrongful manner. The way society feeds off of dramatics has made it a necessity for the media to portray mental illness poorly. Whether it is through the portrayal of how people with mental illness behave, how psychiatry as a whole is portrayed, or how society’s views toward mental illness are portrayed; the media purposefully represents it wrong. These can all be seen in the news, TV shows, and movies.
How movies portray the behaviour of mental illness patients is blatantly incorrect, but the directors and producers are well aware of it. In the 2015 film “The Visit”, directed by M.Night Shyamalan, two children visit who they think are their grandparents who wind up being escaped mental patients that are diagnosed with schizophrenia. The two patients have an elaborate week-long scheme to gain the trust of the kids before killing them all while constantly showing symptoms of schizophrenia. Real schizophrenics wouldn’t be able to plan and execute something so complicated while experiencing the hallucinations as they would be completely out of touch with the real world. Shyamalan had to wrongly portray schizophrenics in order for his story to have tension and excitement. This was the only way the film could draw a crowd and make money, which it did grossing over ninety-eight million dollars in the box office. Not only is the behaviour of mental patients poorly represented in film, but psychiatry as a whole is as well.
In countless TV programs, one of the main characters visits a therapist in order to help them get through a tough time or to help with their mental health. Far too often, these characters get little to no help from their therapists. Psychiatrists are usually shown to be incompetent in their work or even not behaved well enough to be dealing with patients that can be so sensitive. In the hit TV series “Mad Men”, the character named Betty visits a psychiatrist to discuss an issue with her hands. The psychiatrist behaves inappropriately by looking down her shirt and then disclosing information of Betty’s session to her husband. This improper behaviour clearly isn’t the way psychiatrists are supposed to act but it is done in this show to create tension for the characters. One of the biggest issues with this portrayal is that it discourages people in real life who need help to get it. People who are heavily influenced by media will view this as a way to show that psychiatry as a whole is an incompetent field where help cannot be reached. The tension of this issue creates excitement for the story and again, makes more money for the studio. Psychiatry is shown to be unhelpful and discourages many people to be comfortable with their mental illness, the same can be said for how movies and shows address society’s reaction to mental patients.
Many characters who suffer with a mental illness in shows are shunned by their peers and are clear outcasts. A lot of these characters are shown to be constantly bullied and teased by others just because they aren’t “normal”. One example of this is in the show “Scrubs” where a character named Hooch has a clear undiagnosed mental illness. The other characters in the show don’t make an attempt to be nice to him and often become awkward and leave when he tries to speak to them. Often when he leaves, the other characters will mutter “Hooch is crazy”. This is done for comedic effect and only that but if someone with a mental illness was to see how these characters treat a mental patient, they may be discouraged to try and have normal interactions with others in their everyday lives. Clearly this is done to get more laughs and make more money, but it can still have an effect on the people watching.
Making money drives everything in the show business. Studios don’t have the need to represent reality in movies and TV shows as it is boring. They need to sell their product and that doesn’t come by showing someone’s everyday life. Producers and directors need to make mental illness look different than the reality of it because of the way that society feeds off of the dramatics of it. Studios know what they are doing when they portray mental illness poorly and it won’t change.
How movies portray the behaviour of mental illness patients is blatantly incorrect, but the directors and producers are well aware of it. In the 2015 film “The Visit”, directed by M.Night Shyamalan, two children visit who they think are their grandparents who wind up being escaped mental patients that are diagnosed with schizophrenia. The two patients have an elaborate week-long scheme to gain the trust of the kids before killing them all while constantly showing symptoms of schizophrenia. Real schizophrenics wouldn’t be able to plan and execute something so complicated while experiencing the hallucinations as they would be completely out of touch with the real world. Shyamalan had to wrongly portray schizophrenics in order for his story to have tension and excitement. This was the only way the film could draw a crowd and make money, which it did grossing over ninety-eight million dollars in the box office. Not only is the behaviour of mental patients poorly represented in film, but psychiatry as a whole is as well.
In countless TV programs, one of the main characters visits a therapist in order to help them get through a tough time or to help with their mental health. Far too often, these characters get little to no help from their therapists. Psychiatrists are usually shown to be incompetent in their work or even not behaved well enough to be dealing with patients that can be so sensitive. In the hit TV series “Mad Men”, the character named Betty visits a psychiatrist to discuss an issue with her hands. The psychiatrist behaves inappropriately by looking down her shirt and then disclosing information of Betty’s session to her husband. This improper behaviour clearly isn’t the way psychiatrists are supposed to act but it is done in this show to create tension for the characters. One of the biggest issues with this portrayal is that it discourages people in real life who need help to get it. People who are heavily influenced by media will view this as a way to show that psychiatry as a whole is an incompetent field where help cannot be reached. The tension of this issue creates excitement for the story and again, makes more money for the studio. Psychiatry is shown to be unhelpful and discourages many people to be comfortable with their mental illness, the same can be said for how movies and shows address society’s reaction to mental patients.
Many characters who suffer with a mental illness in shows are shunned by their peers and are clear outcasts. A lot of these characters are shown to be constantly bullied and teased by others just because they aren’t “normal”. One example of this is in the show “Scrubs” where a character named Hooch has a clear undiagnosed mental illness. The other characters in the show don’t make an attempt to be nice to him and often become awkward and leave when he tries to speak to them. Often when he leaves, the other characters will mutter “Hooch is crazy”. This is done for comedic effect and only that but if someone with a mental illness was to see how these characters treat a mental patient, they may be discouraged to try and have normal interactions with others in their everyday lives. Clearly this is done to get more laughs and make more money, but it can still have an effect on the people watching.
Making money drives everything in the show business. Studios don’t have the need to represent reality in movies and TV shows as it is boring. They need to sell their product and that doesn’t come by showing someone’s everyday life. Producers and directors need to make mental illness look different than the reality of it because of the way that society feeds off of the dramatics of it. Studios know what they are doing when they portray mental illness poorly and it won’t change.
Rap: You'll be Alright
“Don’t worry about it you’ll be alright”,
“Just be happy, it’s not hard”,
“Look we all get upset, you’ll get over it”,
Thanks for that advice, but it’s not like that,
This isn’t something that I can just move on right past,
I keep slipping and slipping further into the hole,
I try to fight it but I can’t so I close my eyes,
I don’t want to hurt the people I love so I put on a disguise,
They don’t know what I’m going through,
All they know is that I’m not myself,
See now depression isn’t about just being sad,
I don’t want to do anything,
I have no motivation,
I don’t wanna even just lay in bed,
Sometimes I’d rather just be dead,
You see it on TV and movies where they say love gets people through depression,
Love is like a fishing hook, you just need to attach and be pulled out
That you just need good people around you to get past this “sadness obsession”,
But the thing is none of that is true,
It’s impossible to fabricate these emotions,
Sorry, but depression doesn’t come with a “how-to”,
I see it everywhere on the TV screens “Psycho guns down 20”,
Oh it turns out that guy was depressed, isn’t that funny?
I don’t want them to know about me,
What if they think I’m just another crazy?
But no, they won’t, they love me, they’ll understand,
They said they’d always be here to lend a helping hand,
I let my emotions bleed out,
My chest like a vice grip, so tight,
“Oh don’t worry about it you’ll be alright”
“Just be happy, it’s not hard”,
“Look we all get upset, you’ll get over it”,
Thanks for that advice, but it’s not like that,
This isn’t something that I can just move on right past,
I keep slipping and slipping further into the hole,
I try to fight it but I can’t so I close my eyes,
I don’t want to hurt the people I love so I put on a disguise,
They don’t know what I’m going through,
All they know is that I’m not myself,
See now depression isn’t about just being sad,
I don’t want to do anything,
I have no motivation,
I don’t wanna even just lay in bed,
Sometimes I’d rather just be dead,
You see it on TV and movies where they say love gets people through depression,
Love is like a fishing hook, you just need to attach and be pulled out
That you just need good people around you to get past this “sadness obsession”,
But the thing is none of that is true,
It’s impossible to fabricate these emotions,
Sorry, but depression doesn’t come with a “how-to”,
I see it everywhere on the TV screens “Psycho guns down 20”,
Oh it turns out that guy was depressed, isn’t that funny?
I don’t want them to know about me,
What if they think I’m just another crazy?
But no, they won’t, they love me, they’ll understand,
They said they’d always be here to lend a helping hand,
I let my emotions bleed out,
My chest like a vice grip, so tight,
“Oh don’t worry about it you’ll be alright”
Conclusion
After research and even watching examples of different media portrayals of mental illness, it became clear to me that there are many differences between the reality of mental illness and the media's portrayal of it. The media has a tendency to over-exaggerate some aspects of mental illness and emphasize the negative parts of it. If a character in a film has depression, that usually just means that they are sad all the time and can be almost cured just by having positive people around them. But the reality of depression isn't like that at all, it is almost unheard of for someone to be cured of depression that easily. Although news outlets have become better at being sensitive with their word choice and how they cover stories with mental patients, they still need some work. Some news headlines involving mental patients still use terms like "Psycho" or "Crazy" to describe a mental patient and that can be discouraging to people who are scared to say they have a mental illness. One major difference between the media and the reality of mental illness is that the media doesn't exactly show how hard it is for the person suffering with the mental illness. For example; most movies that portray a schizophrenic patient only show they're sudden outbursts and their unnatural behaviour. They never show the hallucinations they have in their head or the voices in their head that cause them to behave in that manner. All in all, the portrayal of mental illness is vastly different from the reality. The media either exploits the worst part of mental illness or makes it seem like it really isn't that big of an issue at all and it leaves the viewer or reader wondering if all mental illnesses are that extreme or easy to deal with.