I struggled to eat, sleep, and function on a regular basis. And that is dangerously tragic in itself. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. I mean, I can show you the data. With such a statement, then I pondered with the following question: Why is depression treated as a form of fraternized with originality, like a trend? A topic people have lost their lives to. DO NOT ROMANTICIZE MENTAL ILLNESSES FOR ROMANCE. What were once sleepless nights filled with creative bursts of energy were now short sessions of sleep interrupted by chronic nightmares. Mental Illness, more than ever, deserves respect due to its devastating results if not treated daily. Mental illness is not an appealing trait; it is not a quality on the romantic checklist of men or women. Writing is not about the writer, it’s about the reader. However, over time fewer authors have continued to rely on mental illness as a tool or tactic; realistic representations of mental illnesses are finally beginning to manifest in literature. Dear Hope & We Must Be Broken © 2015-2018. I was fully prepared to discuss the inadvisability of writing a LGBT romance where the girl gets the guy. I was diagnosed with a mental illness at the age of 16. ( Log Out /  As for my fiction writing, there’s more … I love being Bipolar and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Well, I’m doing it anyway. But it is a serious topic. It's best to sometimes to even put yourself in another's shoes. Remind them of the everyday struggles. The It’s not an issue that should be demonized or stigmatized, either, because I believe it can happen to anyone, whether it’s through traumatic life events or genetic predisposition. Not only does this popular Netflix show romanticize mental illness, but it portrays it an inaccurate light. Message me. It's not about presenting mentally ill characters as the center of romance arcs (that's generally pretty good, since we don't get a lot of representations of mentally ill characters in romantic scenarios), it's about whitewashing and sanitizing the illness itself until it doesn't feel anything like the real, very serious thing that affects the lives of millions of people worldwide. Mental gymnastics and self-diagnosis. It's best to sometimes to even put yourself in another's shoes. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. When you read an article about mental illness, don’t draw a conclusion too soon because the science of mental health is definitely that broad and you can’t judge only from one aspect or perspective. Neither is it something to digest or to move forward from. That sort of thing, you know? They romanticize and glamorize it publicly on social media and similar websites, in particular, the world's most popular micro-blogging platform -- tumblr. Trauma: a deeply distressing or disturbing experience. The line sometimes blurs between the person's true self and the mental illness, but the line nonetheless exists. And that is dangerously tragic in itself. Or portraying autism as this wholly beautiful, poetic thing that creates antisocial savants with beautiful minds, while completely leaving out all the ways that autism negatively affects the lives of autistic people. ( Log Out /  The level of truth in this is disputed by some who have recovered and others who claim to be experts in the field of mental health; they state that your mental illness is never your identity. And it's not something that dissolves with 'love at first sight'. There’s nothing poetic about trying to find your best friend at the bottom of a bottle. There’s noting poetic about mental illness. My girlfriend was not the love interest in the novel of my life; that is to say, mental illness is not something to romanticize, something that we should hope our significant others have just so we can shield them from it with our love. I didn’t need to be saved from what happened to me, and it wouldn’t have been possible even if I did. 3. Whether it was watching Norman Bates stab a motel guest to death in the shower in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, reading articles that dramatize and demonize mental illness, or seeing posts on social media that romanticize depression and anxiety, most have seen mental illness portrayed inaccurately in the media. Ladies and gentlemen, The Fault in Our Stars DID NOT romanticize cancer. Man, it took me three or four reads to catch the "his" in "want’s to do his best to help Jason" before I realized Heidi was a man. I mean if it fits the story and is well written sure although I keep seeing those shitty Me_IRL comics that glorify/romanticize mental illness I wish we could do without. Whether it’s some trendy post about what mental health “is” or how people with mental health illnesses “actually” are, it’s pretty likely to be somewhere in the social media sphere. thank you for this post. The conversation about mental illness is incredibly limited which makes it that much easier for media to romanticize it. And it's not something that dissolves with 'love at first sight'. I mainly write poetry and use it as a tool to work through my experiences and feelings, so lots of my writing, especially when things ain’t going to well, are focused around that and my mental state. She faced as much anger and frustration about what happened to me, as well as unnecessary and unwarranted guilt that she hadn’t been there to stop it. It isn’t something we should cross our fingers to be saved from. RAPE. Mental illness is an area frequently misunderstood by authors and readers alike. It creates a distorted vision of depression and other mental illnesses, and also leads to those feelings of hopelessness that the posts depict. HOWEVER, know your work. I wonder, though, if some of our acceptance of mental illness has been amplified and distorted to romanticize mental illness, while the actual victims of it are still met with… Thank-you! Jason Gardner (the patient) is currently getting treatment for severe PTSD and depression. Mental and physical ailments have always been stigmatized, so it's great that we're breaking down some of the barriers to understanding, like fear and ignorance. Leonard is dealing with this mental illness as he tries to… Post-Traumatic Martyr morphed into actual full-fledged Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. I felt it important to write about this, because as someone who suffers anxiety every day, often people can misunderstand what it means to live with it. 3. MENTAL ILLNESS / ABUSE. But it seems that the movement to de-stigmatize them has gotten horrifically confused with a movement to romanticize them. I was barely interested in romance for a while, and the idea of trusting someone with my body in any way terrified me. To have a mentally ill character does not make them the target for romantic affection either. But mental illness is not romantic or glamorous; it can be crippling and life altering. And I have written my best work not when flirting with the brink, but when treating my chronic health problem with consistency and care. It is OK to write creatively, as long as it is still honest. The temptation to examine the human condition through characters who think or behave in ways we find strange is a common theme in literature, and yet more and more of society is waking up to the fact that frivolous depictions of mental illness can have serious real-world implications. This can be harmful because 90% of those who’ve died of suicide had an underlying mental illness, according to NAMI. (Dreamstime/TNS) Depression is not uncommon amongst teenagers and older children approaching adolescence. Romanticizing mental health illnesses creates a incorrect image about it and nourishes the mental health stigma.I think the only way we can truly remove romanticizing mental illness from today`s society is by talking about it, I want to talk about the horrible parts. That's the best year on record, 18 out of 1.75 million boys. But I’m a bit nervous I could accidentally end up romanticizing mental illness. More importantly, I believe, Esther’s experience with mental illness does not romanticize her experience. We are not checking in with ourselves to see how we really feel or what we really want, and this disconnect can be extremely damaging to one's mental health. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! Things in books that should be left behind in 2016 – That Bookshelf Bitch. First and foremost, she was my trusted partner and friend. 6 min read “All the Bright Places.” Photo: Walter Thomson/Netflix. Make it clear that although “X” isn’t great, “Y” can make it better. Rather than writing poetically about your struggles and leaving it in a pit of despair, write a resolution. At least in the United States, 56% adults who have reported they had mental illnesses, did not get proper care for it according to Mental Health America. As years passed, I gradually grew into my identity as a young queer woman and, although I believe Post-Traumatic Martyr is a somewhat lifelong condition, I began to believe that there was a reason I was still here. As all forms of media romanticize mental illness, people may find faking mental illness to be interesting or to seek attention. This generation is obsessed with mental illness, but even more so, it is obsessed with romanticizing it. She was someone who sat beside me watching the same episodes of Dexter, gently rubbing my back and holding my hand. I’ve heard time and time again, from friends both with diagnosed mental illnesses and without, that, “If I only found someone to love me, things would be better. We live in a generation where mental health issues are so romanticised they seem to have become desirable. For some reason it isn't proper to talk about it despite the fact that every year, 42.5 million adults in the United States are diagnosed with some form of mental illness.The conversation about mental illness is incredibly limited which makes it that much easier for media to romanticize it. It would do well to ask a mental health professional to act as a sensitivity reader and correct any mistakes you may have missed. It is not something that can be solved by writing a song and it definitely can’t be cured by meeting the right guy. I feel like those two mental illness are extremely romanticized in the media and it's kind of upsetting. It’s extremely important to de-stigmatize mental illness, so in general, it’s good news that today there are many more conversations online and in the media about mental illnesses. Literature that glorifies self-harm and suicide as forms of release, such as bad rip-offs of “Romeo and Juliet,” romanticize mental illness and can cause teens to replicate these dangerous behaviors. I write because I believe that authentic mental health writing is badly needed in a sea of technical jargon and fear-driven, sensational headlines. The reality is this: struggling with ED, depression, anxiety, and other illnesses is painful. He was named after his grandmother. Mental illness is not something that mysterious writerly-type characters live with until the eleventh hour of the plot, when their often also-somewhat-mysterious, but kind and understanding love interest heals all their ails simply by loving them unconditionally. Of course this is my opinion. Studies have shown a link between mental illness … Romanticizing mental illness is stripping away all the unpleasant realities of mental illness and turning mental illness into something beautiful that someone would want for the aesthetic. (Let me put out there that there are FAR worse books out there than Twilight, and the only reason I refer to it a lot is because most of you have either heard about it or read it, so it's the example that'll make sense to the majority of you.) It’s extremely important to love those dealing with mental illness, don’t get me wrong. I recently took my boyfriend to a concert for his 22nd birthday. I was a protagonist in desperate need of saving – except I already had a girlfriend, and we’d been together for over three years. That's not what romanticizing mental illness means. Glorifying and romanticizing self-harm, suicide, mental illness and eating disorders can lead to normalizing these things. Dear Hope is a community driven site that features work from across the world! So, let’s not romanticize mental illness. Mental health issues, such as anxiety and depression, are among the reasons that millennials’ health is not as good as that of the previous generation, a new report finds. Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. Have discussions about how mental illness affects people from all walks of life. I have talked in length about how denial is a big issue and how depression is seen as western propaganda. It creates a distorted vision of depression and other mental illnesses, and also leads to those feelings of hopelessness that the posts depict. By telling people that mental illness is beautiful, we are teaching them not to seek help or look for treatment. The reality is, the more people romanticize mental illness, the less it’s taken seriously. I longed for an emotionally tortured soul who might be able to accompany me into the late hours of the night, kept awake by insomnia, angry at the world for its discrimination. This Netflix hit not only shows what it’s like for women to live with a variety of mental illnesses, but the effect that being incarcerated has on them, too. They romanticize and glamorize it publicly on social media and similar websites, in particular, the world's most popular micro-blogging platform -- tumblr. Mental Illness: A wide range of conditions tha After I was raped, I was the kind of person I would have read about in a book and rooted for: the sad girl, traumatized and lonely, isolating herself in her dorm room, watching episodes of Dexter on repeat to quell her newfound insatiable anger problems. Your skin shouldn´t hold scars, it should hold kisses. Glorifying and romanticizing self-harm, suicide, mental illness and eating disorders can lead to normalizing these things. It’s something that people live with, both the mentally ill and their loved ones, on a daily basis. Say, what was the name of that show on Netflix that got criticism for this? Whether it was watching Norman Bates stab a motel guest to death in the shower in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, reading articles that dramatize and demonize mental illness, or seeing posts on social media that romanticize depression and anxiety, most have seen mental illness portrayed inaccurately in the media. Search for mental health online, and some of … This influence can be seen in the shows Euphoria and 13 Reasons Why. The controversial “13 Reasons Why” is an example of a bad representation of mental illness. ( Log Out /  This is a serious problem and I don´t want that you are hurting yourself. Well I am not going to romanticize mental illness and tell you that your scars are beautiful because they aren´t. After learning about it in school for years, writing research papers on Men named Heidi are crazy rare -- in 1972, 18 boys were named Heidi, and that's Peak Naming Boys Heidi. Explain things that have helped you or things you want to do to get better. Mental illness and low self-esteem are terrible things. If I’m being candid, before my own experiences with post-rape trauma, I had other reasons to doubt romanticizing mental illness. Creating an OC with mental illness can bring awareness and give the readers a good understanding of it if you are writing it correctly, so I think if you want to create a character with a mental illness, you should give it a try. I watched it like two summers ago it was disturbing. As I healed from my rape, my girlfriend was not my storybook love interest. The stigma surrounding mental illness is not a recent phenomenon. And for anyone reading this who does have a mental illness. I hid my diagnosis, my meds, my doctor and therapy appointments. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. At fifteen, I was your average blunt-bangs-wearing, journal-writing, hanging-out-in-a-graveyard teenage queer girl stereotype. Do not romanticize mental illness. The site may not work properly if you don't, If you do not update your browser, we suggest you visit, Press J to jump to the feed. That’s not to say that what these people are feeling is not real. However, growing up, I knew that mental illness was something awful. RAPE. I’m not trying to shame anyone with a mental illness, the people who are brave enough to speak about their journey and raise awareness or the ones who have not reached that point. How Can The Media Help To De-Romanticize Mental Illness? Loving someone who is dealing with mental health issues means listening to them when they need it, but giving them space when they need that instead. With low self-esteem and a deep sense of loss after my mother’s death, I was a mess of Post-Traumatic Martyr Syndrome (that’s not real – it’s my name for how survivors of loss feel the constant need to sacrifice themselves for ‘the greater good’ because they lived and the other person did not) and striped arm warmers courtesy of the mid-2000s. Home; About; Romanticize March 22, 2016 ~ Andrea. He suffers from clinical depression but doesn’t use writing as therapy for this very reason. There is a difference between writing about something you deeply experience and live with, than writing about something you portray and imagine it to be. Menu. The show received a mixture of reviews and reactions from its viewers, still, the teen drama’s depictions of high school life and mental illness in youth are inaccurate, any mental health professional would confirm that. Shaving becomes so much and wish that I could save – or the other way, journal-writing, hanging-out-in-a-graveyard queer... Be solved how to not romanticize mental illness in writing but it seems that the movement to romanticize them sometimes to even yourself! Checklist of men or women ~ Andrea trauma, I had other reasons to doubt romanticizing mental.... Teenagers and older children approaching adolescence I recently took my boyfriend to a concert for his 22nd birthday pixie girl... More how to not romanticize mental illness in writing and misconstrued ideas that lead to normalizing these things your scars are beautiful because they aren´t that! 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