Mental Illness

Sitting down to write this, I didn't expect it to be that difficult. Mental illness is a hot topic these days- spread throughout the media, movies, and books as people push for a better understanding. But it hit me that although I have heard much about it, there is really not much that I actually know. The very little knowledge I do have came from a psychology class my sophomore year of high school. It made me realize that the stigma associated with mental illness is very real. When it comes to physical illness, it is taught starting in elementary school and everyone has a general idea of how to stay healthy. Mental illnesses are hidden away and often not taken seriously when they do arise. I do believe that society is becoming more accepting of them with awareness. Movies, for example, are more sensitive to mental illness and show things from the perspective of the person dealing with the illness. Older movies tend to paint anyone with a mental illness as the 'crazy' one. Another example happened within the last few years at Cedar Point. They had a musical show called 'Edge of Madness: Still Crazy' that they then changed to 'Edge of Madness: Six Feet Under' after the National Alliance on Mental Illness said it was perpetuating a stereotype. I think the poems by Kaitlyn Tramp do a good job of revealing what is going on inside the mind of a person with mental illness. It allows people to see that they are not different, they are just dealing with battles that not everyone has to face. Her side notes also proved that illnesses don't have to permanent. If someone gets the care they need, they will slowly gain the strength they need to fight it and finally be free.