I am studying the stigma surrounding depression and anxiety, because I want to understand why society romanticizes the “tragic beauty” of mental illness, but then patronizes those with mental illness and holds them to the same standards as those without. I want to help my reader understand that mental illnesses, like physical illnesses, cannot be controlled or instantly cured, nor does everyone experience depression or anxiety the same way.
I aim to bring to light the flaws of the media’s oversimplified, often careless representation of mental illness, and the detrimental effects it can have on real life sufferers of mental illness. Virginia Kuhn posits that remix enables the amateur to question conventional wisdom by “appropriating” media as language to create a new meaning, perhaps different from its intended one. This is what I intend to do in bringing together several examples of flawed portrayals of depression and anxiety in the media. Sturken and Cartwright write that our perception of the world is based on representations of it (p. 12), which becomes important in dealing with representations of conditions that affect real people. I looked to television, YouTube, and music for such harmful representations that perpetuate misconceptions about what mental illness is. One of the most controversial is perhaps 13 Reasons Why, which has been criticized for graphically portraying Hannah Baker’s suicide and setting up, intentionally or otherwise, a narrative in which the suicidal person gets vengeance on the people she says caused her to kill herself. Concerned psychiatrists have posited that 13 Reasons may push those who are already suicidal to do copycat suicide. Notably, Franco Alonso Lazo Medrano has done this, even leaving behind tapes for those he blamed for his death in the way that Hannah did (Feldman). The other is Logan Paul’s notorious vlog in which he goes into the Aokigahara Forest in Japan (known for being the site of many people’s suicides), finds a dead body, dramatizes it, and jokes about it. In the clip where he records the body, he apologizes to his audience, saying that his vlog was supposed to be “a fun vlog” that focused on “the ‘haunted’ aspect of the forest” It was disrespectful of Paul to attempt to make something “fun” out of the site of several suicides, and to use the death of a suicide victim for the shock value of his own video. In doing so, he mitigates the stories of those that have died in the forest and makes himself the center of the story he told while there. These sorts of representations can perpetuate stigma and discriminatory attitudes toward those afflicted in real life, which I then shift the focus to in the latter half of the video.
The perception of mental illness in our society is based in negative stereotypes that imply that someone with depression or anxiety can easily change their behavior. A study conducted by Lisa Wood et al. surveyed public opinion about those with mental illness, asking participants to rate on a scale of one to five how strongly they believed statements about mental illness such as “unpredictable,” “have only themselves to blame for their condition,” “could pull themselves together if they wanted” and “will never recover fully” (p. 605). The study found that the general public’s endorsement of these statements has risen in recent years and is on par with beliefs prominent in 1998. Such attitudes cause those with depression and anxiety to feel as though they need to hide or mitigate their illness, or refuse treatment entirely, for fear of being patronized by family, friends, and colleagues (Dinos et al., p. 5). The stigma of real life combined with the romanticization of the media may lead some to feel as if things will never get better for them, because their problems don’t go away at the snap of their fingers. In extreme cases, people like Medrano to emulate what they see in stories such as 13 Reasons Why and take their lives, believing there is no other way for the pain to stop. This is not the case, as those that drive themselves to take their lives often have underlying mental health problems that are treatable. They do not need to die, but harmful representations of and attitudes towards mental illness in society may cause them to see no other choice.
The solution lies in the hands of those who have loved ones with mental illness, but also in the hands of those who suffer themselves. Those who know a loved one with mental illness must question media representations of the illnesses. They must turn away from such representations and instead educate themselves about what their loved one is going through in order to properly help them recover. They must be more understanding, especially if they are coming from a place where they themselves have not experienced the struggles that come with depression and anxiety. Those who suffer from mental illness must also speak out in order to dispel the stigma. Of course, this will not come without difficulty, but speaking about one’s illness is a sign of strength and will ultimately help others help them get a proper diagnosis and proper treatment. If those with mental illness are not afraid to speak about their illness, the result will be greater societal understanding, lessened societal stigma, and a step toward recovery.
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