This personally effects me by making me want to take a stand against the stigma of mental illness. I have known some of the most wonderful people who suffer from mental illness and watching them struggle breaks my heart but watching them deal with the stigma is even worse. When you actually see mental illness take over someone you love or even yourself you realize that is not something that is entertaining. I know I would never want people to watch a show about a loved one struggling and it effects me by making me rethink certain shows and movies and why I think they are interesting. Am I watching to learn more about a disorder and how it manifests or am I watching for a quick laugh?
Having a mental illness is hard enough on somebody and the last thing they should worry about is people finding out and judging them. People are not ashamed of having cancer, a sore throat, a cold, or a broken leg so why should people have to hide a mental illness? I know I personally want to be someone that people are not afraid of or ashamed to tell that they have a mental disorder. Media makes mental illness a joke but because of that I want to show that not everyone agrees.
I can honestly say I used to be very guilty of using mental disorders as adjectives. I used to say I was bipolar whenever I was in a bad mood or if I was feeling upset I would say I was depressed. It is such an easy thing to do but that needs to be changed.
I may not be able to change what the media depicts about social media but I can start by changing myself. I no longer use mental disorders as adjectives and I try to educate others not to. As someone who wants to enter the world of counseling by changing myself I can help change others.
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