Mental Health & Media

I guess my previous post got deleted since the last time I blogged at the end of February. Since then, I have begun a volunteer/intern position with the Entertainment Industries Council (EIC). There main focus is using to the media to bring awareness of the mental health and substance abuse issues.

One of the big things that I have been working on with them is the 2009 Prism Awards, their award show that awards various film features and television shows for their accurate portrayal of mental health, substance abuse, and treatment.

I watched part of last year's when I was in their office yesterday, and suffice it to say, it was very difficult for me to watch. The hardest clip to watch was when Tony Soprano's son decides to commit suicide by wrapping a plastic bag around his head and throwing himself into the pool with a brick holding him down. In the end, he calls his dad for help and is sent to psych ward at a hospital. In dealing with my own depression, I definitely have had suicidal thoughts. It was frightening to see a suicide played out in front of me. I felt uncomfortable with it for so many different reasons. Thoughts like "I know what it's like to feel that way," and "Is this giving me any ideas," ran through my head. I think that was hardest to watch about the whole thing was how much I can identify with what was playing out.

Depression is more than just feeling down in the dumps. Depression can really turn into a lifestyle without anyone actually knowing it. It becomes a part of you, affects your perspective, and ultimately changes how you see the "truth." It's really an insidious disease, that probably goes unreported most of the time.

I think any addiction boils down to depression and anxiety. I was definitely sad to hear from someone who worked at last years Prism Awards, joke about a famous celebrity's wife that has a very severe case of OCD. He laughed about how she was unable to go to the bathroom on a twelve hour flight on the airplane. While he laughed and I can totally see how it can be comical, all I could think about was how that totally interfered with her relationships and day-to-day life. It reminded me again how as much as people will deny this, everyone has his/her own little quirks and that we should learn to be compassionate towards others. Any mental illness feels very real to the person suffering and should be taken with seriousness.

I hope in my relationships with others that they will not judge me for my mental health issues or stigmatize me, but learn to have compassion on me because of it.