The Internet is a powerful tool. Often times, it allows people to be heard and understood in ways that we have never been able to connect in before. However, occasionally the ability to say and publicize anything you want can lead to some harmful repercussions. One of those is the misrepresentation of mental illnesses, such as anxiety, depression, and many others by either making light of these serious topics or romanticizing the diseases until they sound appealing.
While listening to a radio station the other day, I was appalled when I heard that a recent study has shown 1 in 5 Americans struggle with severe anxiety, making it the most common illness in the United States. The radio announcer then went on to quip subtle jokes about the disease and make light of a song that has been clinically proven to improve anxious feelings for many patients. While I understand being a radio personality is their occupation and that this could just be my own personal perception of what I heard, I cannot say for certain if he was intentionally poking fun at a very serious issue. However, the comments that were made and the tone in which the subject was addressed was disheartening to hear.
Memes, Instagram posts, Pinterest images, and many other social media staples have also frequently focused on mental illnesses as a topic of discussion. On the one hand, this is a great tool for awareness and letting people struggling with these debilitating thoughts and feelings know that they are never alone, that there are others out there feeling the same way as they do and there are professionals available who can help. On the flip side of this, over-posting about, or sugar coating, anxiety, depression and other severe mental illnesses can send the impression that having these conditions can be, “cool,” or, “romantic,” and the attention they get is glorifying the illnesses in ways that are not glorious.
Mental illnesses are very real and very difficult, and while it is important to recognize and humanize the existence of this in our culture, it is a very dangerous thing to represent mental illness in negative or romantic lights. If the statistic is true and 1 in 5 people in America are suffering with the mental illness of anxiety, than it is up to us to be cautious in how we address the subject matter, for, either making jokes or making it seem like the “trendy” thing to have is problematic to our culture and disrespectful to those who are truly suffering from the disease. So as bright, young scholars in the world of academia, I challenge you to think a bit about how you view mental illness, and remember that what you do online, or on the air, has great ramifications.
NOTE: If you think that you, or someone that you know, may be struggling with a mental illness, please don’t hesitate to contact the Gonzaga Health Center and Counseling Services for help and further resources.
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