Next To Normal Themes

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Mental illness is a significant disease that plenty of people deal with today. The musical next to normal written by Brian Yorkey is about a family who manages a crisis trying to get their family the closest thing back to normal, if not normal. There are many themes present in the musical. Of those themes present, the theme that I found most interesting is mental illness. Mental illness is a broad range of conditions that affects the mood, thinking, and behavior of a person. Throughout the musical we experience the negative affects of what it is like for a family to live and deal with a parent and a wife that suffers from a mental illness. By looking through the lens of the characters in next to normal we can develop and understand why they …show more content…

According to the South African Journal of Psychiatry article “Depressive symptoms among children whose parents have serious mental illness: Association with children’s threat related beliefs about mental illness” “Sixty-eight percent of women and 57 percent of men with mental illness are parents”. As mentioned on nami.org, “Genetics, environment and lifestyle combine to influence whether someone develops a mental health condition. A stressful job or home life makes some people more susceptible, as do traumatic life events” (¶ 3). Diana has the mental illness of bipolar disorder that she developed because of the death of her son Gabe. Gabe died of an intestinal obstruction at eight months old as mentioned in the song “Maybe” sang by Natalie and Diana. Although Gabe is dead …show more content…

In the article, Mental Illness and the Family: Recognizing Warning Signs and How to Cope by www.mentalhealthamerica.net writes, “ Adults, Young Adults, and Adolecents may suffer from prolonged depression, delusions, hallucinations, suicide thoughts, and substance abuse” (
¶ 10). This is significant because Diana suffers from all of these symptoms” (¶ 3). Throughout the musical, Diana’s relationship with her husband Dan has been sporadic. Dan wants the family back to normal however, he knows that is going to be very hard. In the song “ It’s Gonna Be Good” sang by Dan, Gabe, Henry, and Natalie. Dan sings, “ It’s gonna be great!/ It’s gonna be great. The sex is still amazing/ And we don’t stay up that late./ It’s almost been a month and she’s happy as a clam…/ Do I look great? I am.” (28). It’s been awhile since Diana’s last visit to the doctor and everything seems to be going fine. Then Diana begins to wonder why is Dan is staying with her through her illness in the song “Why Stay” sang by Diana and Natalie; the song says “ Why stay ?/ Why not simply give in/ And get on with livin’,/ so everyone knows you tried/ But somehow something died/ On the way. / So tell me why you stay?” (84). Diana is questioning why Dan would stay with the problems she put him through. Diana feels as if Dan will be better off leaving her because now he can experience his own happiness and interest in

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