In a more general sense, a fundamental matter is of essential importance. In the case of this blog, the matter that is fundamental is regarding to the subject of the third graded essay: Mental Health.
Although I'll not submit the third essay, as the students should submit two essays, I think it is important to discuss the topic. A fundamental one, by my perception.
Right before writing this post, I got a message on WhatsApp saying that Education Faculty has dealt with 4 attempts of suicide em only two months. Last September, a 21 years student on our department committed suicide in the sight of everyone passing on a crowdy place on campus. Mental Health is not only about suicide, I know that. However, I think the pressure of not getting help to emotional and mental suffering and mental diseases leads to violence against oneself and others, suicide being one of them.
It is a stigma still, there's no doubt about that. We discussed the subject on class on the least two Wednesdays, and it was a good debate. Not all the students are comfortable with the subject, I guess, although I hadn't see anything in particular in this sense. Everyone looked open to the discussion.
The first debate was lead by Giovanna, a student and a teaching assistant, and she was really great about it. The debate was around the first appointed opinion text, "Stop the stigma on mental health", by Coreu Foster (2019) for News Record. The article highlight how mental health issues are treated badly on social media or on an university campus, for example. According to it,
"Long-held stigmas make it extremely difficult for most to talk openly and honestly with others about mental health, and not everyone has access to a therapist. So, be there for your friends, partners and family members. Don't be too quick to dismiss behavior that seems unnatural. Sometimes, identifying the warning signs of mental illness can be the difference between life and death."
The kindness here refers to the way a person who experiences some sort of mental illness can be publicly mocked or fast judeged for it.
Yes, awful... but very usual.
The way physical illness, like cancer, is treated with respect, in contrast with the mockery regarding mental issues reminded me of a movie about the subject, Thanks for Sharing. The character played by Mark Ruffalo takes some time to finally admit to his new girlfriend (Gwyneth Paltrow) that he is a sex addict. When confronted by her on how she had told since their first date about her breast cancer, he replies that no one would ever think she is responsible for a cancer, but everyone easily blames the addict on their addiction. He says that no one would have doubts about her cancer, but an addiction is a different matter altogether. He is not victimizing himself, far from that; he only highlights how the two illness are treated differently by people and society. And just to remember: physical illness leads to mental problems as well.
The stigma exists and, despite texts like this one or a lot of talking and publication on the subject, is remains strong. An example? During the class, Giovanna asked if any of us was on therapy. When I raised my hand (guilty!), every eye was on me. There was no real bad intention, but we can see the wariness on some of the stares.
At the end, we talked how paying attention to ourselves and others is a way to prevent and treat emotional issues, as one trigger to this matter is loneliness, invisibility and feeling inadequate.
The second text was really great. Not that the first wasn't, but the second one was closer to me, talking about art and fiction narratives (in the form of video games) are important in dealing with mental health. The text I submitted to the voting was about this aspect.
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| "Help Madeline survive her inner deamons on her journey to the top of Celeste Mountain" |
"Depressed and Anxious? These Video Games Want to Help", written by Laura Parker for The New York Times created a nice debate in the class, as some student knew some of the games quoted on the text.
For me, fictional narratives allow us to understand ourselves and others, being more aware of what is happening inside and around us (and of others). It allows empathy, the understanding of otherness, the perception of how different and equal we are all. Not for nothing I quoted a movie, as cinema has been a source of knowledge of myself and the world since I was a kid. It is in a movie theater that I really find myself, in the many stories from around the world being told in a way that I can relate deeply.
I'm not used to play video games - cinema and books are my cure for insanity for sure. Many of my friends are gamers, though, and I can relate to them on the subject. And even if I was not familiar with the great influence video games have o one's perception of life, I would had enjoyed the discussion around this opinion text, as it has touched important current issues on mental health.
On both Wednesdays I told the class about an initiative of the sports center on campus - no one had seen this before, unfortunately. On the wall, there is some posters with questions regarding emotional issues, highlighting how it is not normal to feel bad for not being perfect, for example. It is a small initiative, but a important one. Talk about the subject, address the matter in an openly, honest and respectful way can be form of help and be helped on a suffering that is not always visible to the eyes or identifiable on an MRI.
See? A fundamental, delicate and difficult matter. One that, even in this brief post, I could not turn my back on.
I hope it made some sense.
Just to remind you: there's only one post to go! We are almost at the end of this journey.
So... stay tuned! (And healthy, please!)
| Love is all you need |
| Fleabag |
PS: The link of reference on the movie Thanks for Sharing is from my most import online publication, the blog One Movie a Day. throughout the challenge of watching at least one movie a day for one year, there were many films addressing one matter of mental health. Right at this moment I remember two of them, amazing movies, heartbreaking pictures of how strugling life can be: It's Kind of a Funny Story (writen by Ned Vizinni who strugled with mental illness til he committed suicide at the age of 32) and On the Edge. both set on both set on psychiatric institutions.
PPS: As I think everything is intertwined, this weekend I marathoned a TV show in which I could not deal with at first, but that took me by surprise since last Thursday. I was lucky that it is short - 2 hours and 30 minutes each of the two seasons. Otherwise, I would still be in front of the TV, without any way out of it. The show is Fleabag, and it is astonishing. Really stunning and disturbing in its honesty view on grief and mental issues.
PPPS: I had outlined the main ideas for the third essay on class, but as I've told you above, I won't write it. The thesis statement were: we have to talk more about suicide. The controlling idea was that talk about the subject help to diminishes the stigma around it in a way to really be an aide. I would present the example of Graham Moore in his acceptance speech for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Imitation Game. Moore talks about suicide, bullying, staying weird and going though a tough adolescence. It is very inspirational in a honesty ways, I think. Well, back to the essay. Here my notes on the subject for the third argumentative essay:
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