An Ongoing Battle

Psychiatrists along with psychologists have been working together to find ways to cope with mental illness, as well as treatment methods. The field of mental health being so broad and complex, gave way for the development of many tactics to deal with these numerous disorders and behavioral problems that go under the umbrella of mental illness. One very important aspect of treatment is the fact that these problems do not start within a vacuum, but rather have to do with social interactions and everyday life with everyday problems. It is difficult to judge the circumstances someone else is facing without understanding them. The word “understand” alone is a very complex word itself since we can never fully understand someone without being in their own shoes. The closest we can get to understanding someone is figuring out how their brain is stimulated in different ways. Therapy is another very important part of understanding other individuals. It has been proven that positive social interactions yield better results than medication. This has to do with pain that has been mistreated or misjudged, and so when people have social interaction within a safe environment, they express how they feel in a more pure sense. This is why therapy is such a useful tool that should be utilised by everyone. The stigma around therapy has been the drive of its rarity before mental awareness became increasingly more mainstream. Describing how someone is truly feeling is not an idea that only includes present feelings, but also past thoughts and feelings that lead up to the current mindstate. Understanding  these emotions comes with follow up meeting with a professional in the field that can guide a person to wellness.. A great portrayal of the complexity of mental illness was greatly highlighted by the new film “Joker”, in which we have the main character coming up in a very brutal life. The movie introduces the audience to the Joker’s backstory and upbringing which was filled with confusion and lost hope which ultimately led to his insanity or “madness”. This film could open many people’s eyes on the effects that behavioral disorders and mental illnesses should be much more cared to and accepted with open arms or else more and more people will be prone to the downfall of their own thoughts. Therapy needs to be easily accessible and people need to be extra receptive to their peer’s feelings and raw emotions early before it becomes too late. Solutions come only with actions and action needs to be done with the way people perceive mental illness.