Scrolling through the journals already
posted on here in search of ideas, I came across Julia's commenting about the
"romanticizing of mental disorders", which I found very intriguing. I
agree with a lot of what she was saying, in fact I have also noticed a huge
increase in the attention that mental disorders have been given lately in the
media. However the other side of this issue Julia focused less on was the
positive benefits of mental disorders becoming less and less taboo in today's
society.
There is no doubt a side to mental
disorders that is given a type of recognition that almost seems to
"encourage" mental disorders, but what is also being encouraged,
because of their publicity lately, is seeking help and resolving these issues.
For years and years teenage girls, boys and even adults have felt the need to keep
their issues inside, in fear of being criticized, judged and seen as, what for
a long time has been a derogatory term, “emo”. In fact many, many years ago,
those with mental disorders were actually locked away, imprisoned and even
accused of witchcraft, being punished for their uncontrollable mental illnesses.
For the first time, teens are being told that these issues they are
dealing with happen to others and that they are not alone. What these books,
movies, and celebrities are doing is they letting these teens know that these
issues are serious, and by letting someone know, especially parents and those
they can trust, they can actually resolve these problems and no longer have to
live with them by themselves. For the first time, these teens can speak up and
say, “hey, you know what, I don’t want to live like this anymore”. For the teen
who taught himself to suppress his feelings, potentially increasing the
severity of his issues, he can now feel less pressure to bring these issues up
in conversation.
I strongly believe that the messages in books
and movies like The Perks of Being a
Wallflower for example are not at all to encourage these disorders, as they
should not be wished on anyone, but to simply bring attention to them. However,
whenever anything, whether it be a new book or movie, gets a good review and a
lot of positive feedback, it is common for many people to feel the need to “relate”
themselves to the main characters, which is the part of Julia’s journal I agree
with. This is obviously a controversial issue that many even feel uncomfortable
bringing up, simply because of the fact that it is just now becoming less taboo.
I respect and agree with many of Julia’s points but I do find that publicizing these
issues has given positive attention that has and will continue to help many
teens and adults of either gender.
Julia,
ReplyDeleteI agree completely with your post. I also think it was well written and concise. Unfortunately, the negative side effects of the publicizing of mental illness are very real in society, and I liked how you acknowledged this in your argument. I found the whole post very entertaining and I think you supported yourself well. I enjoyed the fact that you took Julia's original argument but changed it into your own post.
I think your post could have benefitted from more specific details of how the good publicity has helped people suffering from mental illness. Perhaps you could have added statistics into the post, or tell more about how mental illness affected people socially before the positive publicity compared to now. You mention that people with mental illness have been said to practice witchcraft and were imprisoned in the past. Where did you get this information? Also I was a little confused by the last sentence in the second paragraph. By saying "...he can now feel less pressure to bring up these issues in conversation.", did you mean that he can easily speak to others about it, or that he simply does not need to speak about them at all?
Overall I think your post was very well written and interesting. I thought it had a very nice flow as well as covered a topic that is very relevant in society. Great job!
Kendall Stanley
Julia, Kendall is exactly right. Your post is very important, and I am glad that you considered Julia M's post in a different manner. Your post adds much needed perspective to the issue. I remember when Red Sox broadcaster Jerry Remy publicly acknowledged that he had been suffering from depression. This was a huge admission, especially considering Remy himself said he never really believed in depression as a clinical illness. In my own family, I have relatives who suffer from severe depression and I have relatives who don't believe that "depression" is real. Public statement from celebrities and in the media are important because they expose the reality of these tough issues that people deal with.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, without the specific examples that Kendall talks about, you don't really have much credibility. I do wish you would have given a specific example, or at least responded to Julia's Demi Lovato allusion. Where did you get the information about witchcraft? I think we all know that you are right, but that does not alleviate the need to cite evidence or specific examples. Everyone has opinions. Why should we trust yours?