Mental Illness and Its False Glamourization

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The media heavily glamorizes mental illnesses and tries too hard make them seem beautiful. Conditions such as depression, addiction, and bipolar disorder are trends instead of serious conditions that require professional help. More and more works about damaged protagonists being saved by someone who makes them feel special or beautiful are being released. In the first season of American Horror Story, Violet Harmon suffers from depression. Tate Langdon, one of her father’s patients, takes an interest in her immediately. There relationship spirals out of control when it is discovered that Tate is actually a ghost and that he raped Violet’s mom in order to acquire a child for his own dead mother. It is also discovered that Tate is responsible for a school shooting that he did out of anger after his mother aborted his younger brother. Although they both have serious problems that they need to deal with, they end up continuing their relationship . Violet, after discovering that she simply cannot deal with the fact that Tate is psychotic and that her feelings for him are wildly out of control, kills herself. This relationship was completely toxic for both parties, but unfortunately they both believed that love would find its way. It takes the idea that something as simple as “true love” between two teenagers can solve all of their serious internal issues. The news also does a terrible job of painting a picture of mental illnesses. According to the American Journal of Psychiatry, people correlate mental health and mass shootings negatively in order to get more support for gun control policies. By correlating violent acts such as the Aurora shooting and the Sandy Hook Shooting with people that are mentally ill, they paint an image that me...

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...or creative, but bipolar disorder is actually a serious condition that harms relationships, work and social behavior.

Therefore, the media's portrayal of pain is far from accurate. It stigmatizes the seriousness of these conditions and turns them into trends as if they were something fashionable to wear. Is it enjoyable for these people who actually suffer a mental illness to watch as their unwanted condition to become something that is desirable? Contrary to popular belief, mental illnesses are not beautiful. Mental illnesses are not fashionable. Mental illnesses are not something to be taken lightly. It is something to be taken seriously, despite this new trend of sadness being beautiful and that it will get you attention. There are millions of things that should be glamorized: safe driving, common sense, good manners. But mental illness should not be one of them.

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