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How Mental Health Impacts the Real World

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How Mental Health Impacts the Real World

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Mental health in today’s society, much like in Fahrenheit 451 has a large impact on many people of all ages. When mental health issues like depression are present in adults with health problems, it can make it worse, or vice versa. As stated,  “The impact of depression on health in older adults can be severe: much research has reported that depression is associated with worse health in people with conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and stroke” (Older). This website went on to say how having those conditions could worsen mental health issues, or mental health could make those conditions worse (Older). The younger generation can also be diagnosed with mental health problems. In fact, when teens have depression it changes their experiences with peer, family, and school functioning (Jaycox). Depression and other mental illnesses do not go unnoticed and have lots of warning signs. These were said to be, “persistent sad, anxious, or “empty”mood. Feeling hopelessness, guilt, worthlessness, or helplessness…” (Depression). There are many upsetting results from having a mental illness such as thoughts of suicide, and actually committing suicide. A website states, “A potential, tragic consequence of untreated depression is suicide” (US). Almost 30,000 people committed suicide in 1997, just in the United States alone (US). Having a mental illness is a very serious and common issue in today’s society and getting help when it is needed is very important.

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This video was made by a class of 10 and 11 year olds. They told how each of them can cope with small problems that eventually go away. Their friend had been impacted greatly on a more serious issue that did not go away. Each kid could tell that their friend was not being herself. The students presented ideas on how you can solve the bigger problems in life. It is also normal to have problems and asking someone for help is okay.

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This quote expresses the idea of surrounding yourself with people who make you happy. If you are constantly with people who put you down, you will start to believe the things they say. On the other hand, if you surround yourself with uplifting people, you will be able to feel happy.

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Robin Williams Quote About Loneliness - Awesome Quotes About Life

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I used to thing the worst thing in life was to end up all alone, it's not. The worst thing in life is to end up with people that make you feel all alone.

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This quote shows that when you don’t feel happy, you need to accept the fact that you don’t. The only way to heal is to know that something is wrong. You also have to know that you should try to make yourself happy again.

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Famous Quotes : 13 Times Celebrities Got Real About Mental Health...

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Quotes for Fun QUOTATION - Image : As the quote says - Description 13 Times Celebrities Got Real About Mental Health Sharing is love, sharing is everything

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This statistic presents that many people have a mental health issue. Whether or not this issue stays, it is at least present in most people at some point in their life. It can even get so bad that they can’t cope with it and feel overwhelmed.

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This #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek we've unearthed some concerning statistics on stress. We need to do more to tackle stress and improve the UK's mental health: pic.twitter.com/Nvy5ASEfDB
— Mental Health Foundation (@mentalhealth) May 14, 2018

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This statistic is upsetting but true. Many americans live with and experience mental illnesses. Not only is this the adults who suffer in our population, but there is also a large amount of adolescents.

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Mental health is not only an issue to the characters of Fahrenheit 451, but also within modern day society. A mental illness affects a person's way of thinking, their mood, and their feelings. Many people, including those in the medical field have misconceptions on mental health. If this is true, how will anyone be able to get help for their conditions? (Anonymous) Based on the condition of their illness it could even change how they interact with other people and how they function each day (My). Although this is a very unfortunate issue and many people are judged for it, this problem is not uncommon. A website proved this by saying, “The statistics are staggering, 1 in 5 young people suffer from a mental illness, that’s 20 percent of our population...” (“Mental Disorders.” Teen). This may not seem like many people but, 20% of the world’s population is around 1.5 billion people. That’s over a billion people who suffer from this illness. Of these 1.5 billion people, those impacted can be of all ages even the youth. This was proved by, “Mental health conditions can also begin to develop in young children. Because they’re still learning how to identify and talk about thoughts and emotions, their most obvious symptoms are behavioral” (NAMI). This shows even the worst of illnesses can change all lives, these people can however get over this illness. For example, “Depression is a real illness. It is not a sign of a person’s weakness or a character flaw. You can’t “snap out of” clinical depression. Most people who experience depression need treatment to get better” (Depression). Even though it is a large issue, some people have been able to overcome it with lots of treatment. If you start early enough and try your hardest to get past it,  you can make a recovery in your social life, school and work (My). Many people in today’s society are impacted by this terrible illness and it should always be taken seriously.

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Impacts of Mental Health in Fahrenheit 451

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Impacts of Mental Health in Fahrenheit 451

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In the novel Fahrenheit 451, mental health impacts many of the characters, mostly in a negative way. In this novel the main character Montag is impacted greatly by this “issue”. Bradbury presented this by saying,  “Even the smile, he thought, the old burnt - in smile, that’s gone. I’m lost without it” (Bradbury 74). Although this may not seem like much, he had been changed by this problem so much that his views on his own self had been altered. Mental health can also change the way people act and what they do. For example, “Maybe you took two pills and forgot and took two more, and forgot again and took two more, and were so dopey you kept right on until you had thirty or forty of them in you” (Bradbury 17). In this case mental health was such an issue that doctors had to get involved, this eventually got to the point that it even affected Mildred's physical health. This issue can be so harmful that people begin to harm themselves and even attempt suicide. Bradbury even addressed this, “We’re due back at the House. Besides, these fanatics always try suicide, the patterns familiar” (Bradbury 36). So many people did this that it led to the town and the towns people being use to it. Suicide was so common that many people didn’t know of men dying any other way. This sad truth was told by saying, “I’ve heard that, too. I’ve never known any dead man killed in a war. Killed jumping off buildings, yes, like Gloria’s husband last week, but from wars? No” (Bradbury 91). Not only were they surprised men died in the war, but they acted like men killing themselves was more normal than dying in a war. In this novel’s society mental health issues, depression and suicide was normalized. This led to more people putting on a fake smile or “mask” and hiding how they truly felt about things, and if they expressed how they felt, they were frowned upon. Sometimes holding in these feelings makes people act out even more. This was brought about when, “And then there was a shrieking blaze, a jumping, sprawling, gibbering manikin, no longer human or known, all writhing flame on the lawn as Montag shot one continuous pulse of liquid fire on him” (Bradbury 113). Mental health in this case, caused Montag to act in an inhumane manner. Altogether within this novel, it is shown that mental health has a very large impact on these people and alters the way they act.

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This image depicts a person with "Hello My Name Is.." stickers where their brain would be. The stickers in this image can symbolize not only what is going on in someone's brain, but also how they are seen. People tend to see those with mental health “issues” as what they have problems with such as stress, panic and depression.

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By Catherine Ward

Mental health is being discussed more than ever before. In fact, many of the top political debates in our country stem back to it, such as gun control and health care. In addition, resources for mental health are readily available. Hotlines are heavily marketed and mental health help apps, such as Talkspace or Calm, are increasing daily. Discussions about mental health are also prominent on social media outlets in which people across the world as well as celebrities are campaigning for it to be normalized. So, why is the stigma persisting?

Part of the problem lies within the fact that mental health, for the most part, is only discussed in reference to tragedies. The Parkland shooting, the suicides of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain, the overdose of Mac Miller. All of these current tragedies created important dialogue around mental health, but this all came too little too late. The negative association that mental health has makes it that much harder for people who are suffering to seek help.

We need to discuss mental health without being prompted to. There should not be a stigma around mental health in any form, whether it be depression, anxiety, eating disorders, or addiction. According to a Doctor of Psychology at Harvard Medical School, 1 in 25 Americans are sociopaths, which is approximately 4% of the population. 16% of Americans classify as narcissists and over 18% have anxiety disorders. With just these three branches of mental health, this already refers to approximately 38% of the population who are suffering with some form of mental health issue. People need help, and this is more of a reason why we need to change this stigma.

Someone you know personally is most likely affected by a mental illness. It could be a close friend, an acquaintance, a professor, a mentor; it could be anyone. Mental illnesses do not discriminate. More importantly, we live in a society where celebrities and political figures are constantly in the public eye, and many of them are most likely affected to some degree by mental health. They need to all be using their platforms to create change around the reputation of this prevalent issue so that the people we know who are affected can seek the proper help.

I am sure someone comes to mind for everyone: influencers, musicians, actors, politicians, friends, siblings, bosses. Is Jake Paul really a sociopath? Is Kanye West having a psychotic break? What happened to Britney Spears in 2007? Why did Logic write his song, 1-800-237-8255, about suicide? Mental health is being discussed more than ever before, but we need to use these discussions to encourage others to utilize the resources available rather than reproducing the negative stigma surrounding it.

We cannot continue to wait until it is too late. It should not take tragic events to prompt the use of mental resources. We should not have to be reminded to "reach out" to friends and family who might be suffering. It is important to talk about why we are not reaching out sooner and why we are not encouraging getting help early on. We need to start being more conscious of others who are being affected and aware of what we can do to ease their suffering.

Although you cannot force someone to get help, you can try and encourage them. If someone is injured and stuck in bed, we make accommodations and bring things to them. When someone is depressed and stuck in bed, we tell them to cheer up and to get happy. There should not be this disconnect. We need to stop saying, "if only we knew they were suffering," and start getting educated about what signs to expect from people that might be suffering.

Everyone will be impacted to some degree by mental health in their lifetimes. With this in mind, why are we talking about mental health so much yet doing so little to help? Why do we only share hotline numbers after someone commits suicide? Why is mental health still associated with negativity? We must all get on the same page and begin changing the stigma around mental health.

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Why is There a Stigma Associated with Mental Health in Today's Society?

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By Catherine Ward Mental health is being discussed more than ever before. In fact, many of the top political debates in our country stem back to it, such as gun control and health care. In addition, resources for mental health are readily available.

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Within the novel, Fahrenheit 451, mental health is a very prominent issue for many characters. Clarisse is one of the youngest characters to show their effect from it. The text states, “I’m seventeen and I’m crazy. My uncle says the two always go together” (Bradbury 5). This shows the reader that this broad  issue impacts adolescents. Although mental health should never be what makes people determine who others are, it tends to be a sense of direct characterization for many people throughout Fahrenheit 451. Mental health can also severely impact adults and it is shown throughout the text immensely. Bradbury said, “‘What?’ asked Montag of that other self, the subconscious idiot that ran babbling at times, quite independent of will, habit, and conscience” (Bradbury 8). Montags stream-of-consciousness could suggest that in some way his mental health could have been altered because of the way he views himself. Many times, when someone's mental health is affected, it changes their opinion on many different topics and people. Although most characters are negatively impacted by this issue, some have tried to improve the way not only they see things, but the way others do as well. Faber begins trying to have Montag get a better outlook on life and see the positive in situations. He told Montag, “Do your own saving, and if you drown, at least you die knowing you were headed for shore” (Bradbury 82). When Faber uses this analogy, it gives us a more uplifting idea than the rest of the novel had. The analogy could almost be a symbol of hope for Montag, in which he would be able to turn his life around. In Fahrenheit 451 there are many scenarios of mental health, and many different opinions on it. Some characters, like Faber try to promote positivity and tell others to not let the very negative society change their opinion on anything. On the other hand, characters like Montag tend to let negative situations outweigh the bad, and take control of their lives. In either situation their experiences throughout their life impact their mental health severely, thus creating how content or depressed they are. Some characters also try to put a “mask” on to pretend their life is better than it really is, and others actually admit to their problems to try to face them.

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In this video the viewer is presented with the ideas of how to become strong mentally. Unhealthy beliefs about yourself, others and the universe will not help your mental strength. When you focus on the negative situations in life, your giving away any strength you have mentally. If you think you deserve something you don’t get, you become disappointed and mentally weak. If you are faced with bad mental health, you have to give up your bad mental habits, and you will in turn become “stronger”.

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The Secret of Becoming Mentally Strong | Amy Morin | TEDxOcala

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Ray Bradbury used his powerful novel Fahrenheit 451 to bring attention to societal issues, and using research, he has proven mental health is having a negative impact on teens and adults today, though society believes it is non-existent.

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Mrs. Jenkins
English 10-7
4/17/2019