Pop culture, Trends, Hashtag- Fun. Programming, Brainwash, Hitler- Not Cool.
If we were to view these words as people and treat each group as a panel, which one would you chose to explain Mental Health to you? Let's say both, the pretty and the ugly. Now, if we mixed them together to make a movie, what kind of movie would they create? The Joker. A beautifully aesthetic movie with negative intonations. Makes sense, but still does not explain the role of Mental Health in America; yet many people are far too comfortable believing they understand, based on information that has been provided by the media.
A man who does not think for himself, let's others do it for him.
The truth is Mental Health is too personal to understand it as a mass audience. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), mental health is “a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community”. Simple enough right? Your normal is what sets the parameters for your abnormal. This is not up to others to decide. When an individual visits a psychological professional, they are asked personalized questions i.e., "How do YOU feel? What made YOU feel that way? How can I help YOU to overcome this?" etc.
However, defining your own normalcy is scary for both the person and the outside party. Responsibility is increased for the individual and control is decreased for the masses; which is why it is typically avoided. These days, we like to play the "Feel Good" game; immediate gratification, quick fixes and drive through everything. Unfortunately, every component in this game relies on other people. These rules allow us to lessen the amount of responsibility and accountability when justifying uncomfortable sensations to ourselves. Or so we think.
Statistic show that current suicide rates are on the rise and breaking barriers. Most likely because, when it's not one's turn in trending, retweeting or likes, they realize that they are alone; and if they don't have or understand their own concept of sanity, then they are sitting in the dark with a stranger. Scary...
We create our own monsters by running from the truth and avoiding our reality.
Consequently, the scariest person to answer to sometimes, is ourselves. Therefore, the concluding options are; Tune back into the next featured presentation to comfort yourself while in purgatory (intervals of a temporary solution to a permanent equation) or Tackle your demons by questioning your existence (which is an inevitable point in time).
Badah boom Badah bang. Now that we understand the umbrella, lets talk about the rain...
Upcoming in blog series Pop- Culture and Mental Health;
Antisocial Narcissism.
