A Voice

A sweet, blue-eyed seven-year-old girl is watching The Parent Trap while being babysat by her big brother.

He gets her a cup of water after asking if there was anything she needs. Little did she know, her answer should have been “I need my big brother.” Only minutes later she hears a heart-stopping, deafening boom. She sits there, frozen. What was that? Her pretty blonde hair on the back of her neck is standing up and her ears are ringing. The terrifying noise was the gun her brother used to take his own life. Twelve years later, that emotionally scarred seven-year-old is now a young woman at nineteen. She is still seeing a therapist after not only losing her big brother to suicide, but a few other traumas as well. There is something different about this blue-eyed nineteen-year-old…she does not hate her brother anymore. She now understands that things do happen for a reason. She finally sees herself as maybe a little fragile, but also a very strong young woman. She has gotten to this point in her life through psychiatric therapy and she is not ashamed to admit it. 

Throughout the years society has overcome many previous discriminations such as religion, skin color, and gender. One such area that is in need in overcoming is the negative perception against those who seek psychiatric therapy. With more education society could understand mental health and, therefore, not stigmatize those in psychiatric therapy.  

The lack of education about mental illness and psychiatric therapy does not only affect those who are open about it, it also affects society as a whole. Society does not know the symptoms of mental illness, how to reach out for help, and how exactly to offer help. As a whole, society tends to turn away from mental illness. As children everyone is taught to stay away from someone who is sick. People with a mental “illness” are looked at as being sick, forcing society to not only turn away but also avoid their own thoughts and feelings.  

“Words have power. They have the power to teach, the power to wound, the power to shape the way people think, feel, and act toward others” (Wahl, 1).

There are many words associated with those in psychiatric therapy such as crazy, mental illness, mental health, weak, strong, depression, disorders, giving up, surviving. The ironic thing is some of these words are complete antonyms of each other. Some say those in therapy are weak because they can’t deal with their own problems; others say those in therapy are strong because they want to get better. Some say mental health because those who study mental health or those who go to therapy are looking to think and feel healthier.  

The history of mental health is one of the reasons why society looks differently to those who have a mental illness. “In the 17th and 18th centuries, individuals with mental illnesses underwent great suffering at the hands of American society. Viewed as demon-possessed or characterized as senseless animals, they were subject to deplorable treatment” (Mental Health America, 1). As early as 5,000 BC those with a mental illness were viewed as possessed creatures who were being properly punished by God for committing sins (Foerschner, 2). “Early man widely believed that mental illness was the result of supernatural phenomena such as spiritual or demonic possession, sorcery, the evil eye, or an angry deity and so responded with equally mystical, and sometimes brutal, treatments” (Foerschner, 2). One of these brutal treatments was trephining. Trephining was a procedure performed on the mentally ill in which part of the skull would be removed so the evil spirits could escape (Foerschner, 2).  

Another treatment that was used for mental illness is electroconvulsive therapy, otherwise known as ECT. “The patient is given general anesthesia and a muscle relaxant. Electrodes are then attached to the patient’s scalp and electric current is applied which causes a brief convulsion” (Mental Health America, 1). The majority of society cringes when they hear the words electroconvulsive therapy, thinking of the therapy as torture. ECT has been in books and movies, not properly describing how ECT is done. ECT was first done in the early 1900s when doctors did not have the proper tools and knowledge. There have been continuous studies done over the past decades and ECT is now being used properly (Mental Health America, 1). However, the history and the lack of education of electroconvulsive therapy has made a negative impact on society. 

Media has a huge impact on society, sometimes positive and other times negative. “The media can play an important role in reaching out to many different audiences to promote mental health literacy” (Parle, 3). Many movies and television shows including American Horror Story, Psycho, Monster, and The Silence of the Lambs portray mental illness as scary and crazy. Other movies such as It’s Kind of a Funny Story describes mental illness in a more positive way, one character saying, “If you don’t open up, you’re never going to heal” (It’s Kind of a Funny Story, DVD). However, it is not just television and movies that portray mental illness in a negative way. Newspapers and magazines highlight those who have committed a crime and are mentally ill. When society reads about a crime and the criminal is mentally ill, society’s minds are made up: all people who are mentally ill are psychopaths. “The media’s job is entertainment” (Tartakovsky, 2). If society could separate themselves from what is fact and what is fiction while watching a scary movie or reading a magazine, media on mental illness could have more opportunities to have a positive impact instead of negative.  

“To some, the stigma is so unbearable that they avoid seeking help for their illness” (Gellene, 1). Stigma is only so unbearable because of the lack of education. A majority of the education about mental illness comes from the history of mental illness. Schools should start teaching the basics of psychology in elementary school, giving children an early start on understanding mental health. In high schools mental health should be taught not as an elective course, but a mandatory class helping teenagers to understand how the brain words, why people become depressed, and how to help those who become depressed. Doing so could make the students pay more attention to their classmates’ moods, understand their own thinking processes, recognize and eliminate discrimination, and therefore lower suicide rates. The key goal is education and understanding. “These brain disorders are serious, disruptive, and destroy lives. They tragically lead to thousands of suicides annually. Real men take steps to treat their depression should it occur. They battle the stigma. They fight back” (Hipple, Horsley, Horsley, 5). 

“We are all ‘mentally ill.’ We all have a brain and a body and a spirit. We are human-susceptible to illness. With more understanding, research, education, and vulnerability, we will break through that which holds us back” (Prechter, interview). Do not be part of stigmatizing against those with a mental illness and those who go to psychiatric therapy. Be part of society that lends a helping hand. Society has already gotten through numerous discriminations and with more education and more voices, society will get through this one as well. “You are here for a reason and you deserve to love the life you live” (Hipple, Horsley, Horsley, 90). 

Written by: Tarah Hipple-Thomas | www.soartraumatherapy.com

Work Cited

“Electroconvulsive Therapy.” Mental Health America. Mental Health America, 2012. Web. 27 Nov. 2012. 

Foerschner, Allison M. “The History of Mental Illness: From ‘Skull Drills’ to ‘Happy Pills.’” Student Pulse. Student Pulse, 2010. Web. 16 Nov. 2012. 

Gellene, Denise. “A Widespread Stigma.” Kellogg Insight. Kellogg Insight, Apr. 2011. Web. 11 Nov. 2012. 

“History of the Organization and the Movement.” Mental Health America. Mental Health America, 16 Jan. 2012. Web. 20 Nov. 2012.