MORALITY OF POLITICS AND JUSTICE
-Reflection of Project-
In humanities, we engaged in a real world issue and centered around solving it with our own opinions. I chose mental illness and the branches of problems it creates through a social, institutional, and political level. Through this, I studied the origin and processes of mental impairment, how a person affected reacts, and how the rest of the population reacts. My moral standing ground believes mental illness receives too much social stigma and myths surrounding it. Thus, causing selected individuals to be neglected. I researched various phenomena and if it correlates with the sick brain. I concluded suicides, homelessness, medication intake of kids, and shootings were huge hot spots of mental illness. Then, cracking my brain for solutions, I found education and voluntary programs for aiding show a good start. I learned mental illness really does still receive legitimacy doubt -not just by reading articles, but observing comments on those articles. There's even a book claiming mental illness is a myth!!! Hearing about horror stories of the deranged being dealt with in institutions and even the non-deranged, my thesis reigns true. These deepen my belief the mentally ill still have a long way to go in achieving equality. (Equality within treatment in a social circle to recognition in the doctor's office.)
I learned there's a lot of worthwhile controversial beliefs that contradict my own and I still have a lot to learn. This project helped shed light on the problems of the world but also concerns me. Often times I would find myself searching for a correlation or a point. With my beliefs still solidly intact, it was troubling to find other variables that factor into the problem besides mental illness. Still, this project could be dedicated to an entire lifetime searching for answers, so there's bound to be pieces I'm missing: Pieces that support the mental illness epidemic.
Out of all the struggles and strengths, I believe I succeeded the most in evidence. One of my objectives was to find problematic issues that correlate with mental illness. Although I have a lot more to diagnose, my current points strongly present themselves. Example: I theorized suicides are severely linked to mental illness and discovered statistics showing over 90% of the victims are, in fact, connected with it. My second point in my thesis (The sick brain isn't treated enough.) presents itself through over 1/3 of the homelessness being mentally ill. My weak points are probably rhetoric- I feel I didn't have enough persuasion in the Op-Ed as well as the exhibition. Finding correlations and theorizing are tough. If I had spent more time on it, I probably would have done better. One example is simply the idea itself-Does mental illness really need to be treated or is there another important factor? It was difficult in general to persuade viewers it's a hidden epidemic.
If I had more time in my pocket, I probably would have sculpted my brain better; I'd help it resemble a brain more. I also would have worked on my Op-Ed more in terms of research and finding more predicaments on the mentally sick. Hopefully I have an entire career ahead of me for that!
-Op-Ed-
Hidden Epidemic of Mental Illness
Imagine if you broke your leg, severely fractured. You rush to the emergency room only to hear the doctor and fellow patients nearby say it’s not that big of a deal. You reach out to someone in hopes of offering aid, but they resort to calling you an attention seeker. Your bone screeches during every step you take and you pretend it’s not there. Finally, you receive treatment, but all it does is numb the pain temporarily, without full recovery. Imagine the absurdity of this broken bone scenario and replace it with mental illness. Are they not both valid enough to receive proper care? The reality of our medical practices suggests, “No”. Society turns neglects the mental health of individuals. School shootings, suicides, homelessness, education, and overall a country’s infrastructure relies heavily on citizens’ minds. The Declaration of Independence declares all men are created equal; therefore, the government needs to concern for everyone equally. Mentally ill citizens deserve justice through equal recognition and treatment in today’s society amongst the other medical emergencies.
School shootings are still prominent in America – why? Many might try to claim lack of gun control, but ask yourself: Why did they begin a shooting rampage in the first place? Because healthy people occasionally get bored of shooting ranges and go all out? Because they can? There is much more to that than we realize. Aaron Alexis, a man who went on a shooting rampage within the Washington Navy Yard was diagnosed with severe paranoia, and as possessing the behavior of a schizophrenic and psychopath. He killed 11 people. His peers in his life stated he never received treatment.
“He went to a V.A. hospital with acute insomnia, which is sometimes a sign of underlying mental disorders, and yet no one screened him there for mental illness, not even for P.T.S.D., which should be a standard procedure at V.A. hospitals.” (The New Yorker)
Leaning towards the untreated lies another unspoken problem: suicides.
“According to Befriender’s statistics, in the last 45 years suicide rates have increased by 60% worldwide. Mental health disorders (particularly depression and substance abuse) are associated with more than 90% of all cases of suicide.” (Befrienders.org)
As baffling unreal as that last percentage may seem and even if it might prove to be a rough estimate, it still indicates the sick minds account for several suicides. Not to mention amongst these suicides are more commonly men. Men are three times more likely to kill themselves, according to WHO. (World Health Organization)
“Unfortunately, suicide all too often fails to be prioritized as a major public health problem,” said Margaret Chan, WHO’s director-general.
This presents the quintessential reason behind doing harm to oneself: not expressing your feelings. Through societal standards, men are put unto harsher criticism if they display emotions, thus, unlikely to seek help they need. While suicidal individuals may at least seek treatment, others have absolutely no resources or capabilities to do so. This transitions to homelessness.
“People with untreated psychiatric illnesses comprise one-third, or 250,000, of the estimated 744,000 homeless population.” (Mentalillnesspolicy.org)
From a utilitarian perspective, it would be noted that this damages the economic development. That’s nearly a million citizens unable to function normally, possibly not enough to even communicate properly. From a Utilitarian perspective, John Rawls declares equal distribution of goods serving as equal opportunity. This translates to every person receiving fair concern in the social scene as well as treatment in the doctor’s office. Instead of silencing these struggling people are committing these crimes or lying on the subway station floor, fixate on to why.
Finally, there remains a different phenomenon around the mental stigma: diagnosing patients as mentally problematic too much. For example, students in the USA receiving medication for supposedly having ADHD/ADD have increased tremendously within decades.
“In Germany, for instance, 2.2% of kids were treated for hyperkinetic disorder (roughly speaking, the European equivalent of ADHD) in 2007; that’s an increase of 53% for boys and 69% for girls since 2000. Treatment among older kids, those 15 to 18, doubled during the same period.” (Healthland.time.com)
Since physical and severe verbal punishment is commonly prohibited amongst public schools, faculty results in other alternatives to calming them down- literally drugging them. Discarding the slippery slope theory that kids are naturally receiving ADHD more often, I believe this is a mere lack of knowledge and laziness on the adult’s part. Kids are naturally rambunctious! The behavioral attitudes of kids are picked up as negative symptoms to parents. They were never mentally troubled in the first place. Instead of associating with positive reinforcement activities to motivate the students such as physical play or exciting games, staff resort to the easy way out. This presents a relevant aspect to prove the need for better understanding of how to identify mental problems and how to react.
Mental illness receives too much social stigma to be recognized and treated properly. Society dismisses it as unimportant, too costly, or not legitimate. Educating normal individuals, especially younger generations, of the truth is a great start. Every person must view the symptoms of mental illness as vital as knowing CPR. Formulating programs with a voluntary helping hand is another tactic, whether it be a movement to require regular check-ups or charities to lower medication and therapy costs. This blockage to the human progression of innovation, creativity, and kindness of society may be curable with baby steps.
Works Cited
Solomon, Andrew. "An Avoidable Tragedy: Aaron Alexis and Mental Illness - The New Yorker." The New Yorker. The New Yorker, 20 Sept. 2013. Web. 2 Oct. 2014. <http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/an-avoidable-tragedy-aaron-alexis-and-mental-illness>.
"Suicide Statistics | Befrienders." Suicide Statistics | Befrienders. Befrienders Worldwide, n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2014. <http://www.befrienders.org/suicide-statistics>.
Torrey, Fuller E. "Homeless Mentally Ill Facts, Figures and Anecdotes- MENTAL ILLNESS POLICY ORG." Homeless Mentally Ill Facts, Figures and Anecdotes. Mental Illness Policy Org., n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2014. <http://mentalillnesspolicy.org/consequences/homeless-mentally-ill.html>.
Cloud, John, and John Cloud. "ADHD: A Global Epidemic or Just a Bunch of Fidgety Kids? | TIME.com." Time. Time, 22 Sept. 2010. Web. 20 Oct. 2014. <http://healthland.time.com/2010/09/22/adhd-a-global-epidemic-or-just-a-bunch-of-fidgety-kids/>.
-Artist Statement-
My political campaign piece represents my perspective on the epidemic of mental illness. There deserves to be fewer stigmas associated around it and more attention. Specific parts of it symbolize concepts of social institutional inequality. My main purpose is to display the perspective of the mentally injured from an inside look. This piece plays on mostly pathos. It intends to alter the behavior and views of individuals witnessing dilemmas of the mentally impaired. This is a sculpture of a brain with band-aids decorated on it. The band-aids have phrases often received to troubled citizens: "Cheer up" or "Calm down, stop being so paranoid.". This depicts the social doubt and stigma mental illness receives. These represent how trivial brain sickness is seen to the healthy-merely a mood swing. The reason they're band-aids is showing how little effect those words mean to a disease so much more deeper. Band-aids cannot heal a knee-deep gash so motivational phrases do not heal a brain disease. The brain is also inflamed with tints of red to portray how alarmed the brain can feel during a cocktail of mood swings to hallucinations, screaming inside. I'm satisfied with my depiction of the misunderstanding and mistreatment toward the mentally ill. The rhetorical elements of pathos plays through identifying the hurtful phrases said to the disadvantaged and directing it back to the advantaged. When healthy-minded people observe my sculpture, hopefully they will recognize some of those words and consider using them less. Hopefully the tone it gives off through the inflamed vessels will speak to those doubtful of the legitimacy. And hopefully I will be more informed through insightful responses that will comes from my artist visual piece.
-Reflection of Project-
In humanities, we engaged in a real world issue and centered around solving it with our own opinions. I chose mental illness and the branches of problems it creates through a social, institutional, and political level. Through this, I studied the origin and processes of mental impairment, how a person affected reacts, and how the rest of the population reacts. My moral standing ground believes mental illness receives too much social stigma and myths surrounding it. Thus, causing selected individuals to be neglected. I researched various phenomena and if it correlates with the sick brain. I concluded suicides, homelessness, medication intake of kids, and shootings were huge hot spots of mental illness. Then, cracking my brain for solutions, I found education and voluntary programs for aiding show a good start. I learned mental illness really does still receive legitimacy doubt -not just by reading articles, but observing comments on those articles. There's even a book claiming mental illness is a myth!!! Hearing about horror stories of the deranged being dealt with in institutions and even the non-deranged, my thesis reigns true. These deepen my belief the mentally ill still have a long way to go in achieving equality. (Equality within treatment in a social circle to recognition in the doctor's office.)
I learned there's a lot of worthwhile controversial beliefs that contradict my own and I still have a lot to learn. This project helped shed light on the problems of the world but also concerns me. Often times I would find myself searching for a correlation or a point. With my beliefs still solidly intact, it was troubling to find other variables that factor into the problem besides mental illness. Still, this project could be dedicated to an entire lifetime searching for answers, so there's bound to be pieces I'm missing: Pieces that support the mental illness epidemic.
Out of all the struggles and strengths, I believe I succeeded the most in evidence. One of my objectives was to find problematic issues that correlate with mental illness. Although I have a lot more to diagnose, my current points strongly present themselves. Example: I theorized suicides are severely linked to mental illness and discovered statistics showing over 90% of the victims are, in fact, connected with it. My second point in my thesis (The sick brain isn't treated enough.) presents itself through over 1/3 of the homelessness being mentally ill. My weak points are probably rhetoric- I feel I didn't have enough persuasion in the Op-Ed as well as the exhibition. Finding correlations and theorizing are tough. If I had spent more time on it, I probably would have done better. One example is simply the idea itself-Does mental illness really need to be treated or is there another important factor? It was difficult in general to persuade viewers it's a hidden epidemic.
If I had more time in my pocket, I probably would have sculpted my brain better; I'd help it resemble a brain more. I also would have worked on my Op-Ed more in terms of research and finding more predicaments on the mentally sick. Hopefully I have an entire career ahead of me for that!
-Op-Ed-
Hidden Epidemic of Mental Illness
Imagine if you broke your leg, severely fractured. You rush to the emergency room only to hear the doctor and fellow patients nearby say it’s not that big of a deal. You reach out to someone in hopes of offering aid, but they resort to calling you an attention seeker. Your bone screeches during every step you take and you pretend it’s not there. Finally, you receive treatment, but all it does is numb the pain temporarily, without full recovery. Imagine the absurdity of this broken bone scenario and replace it with mental illness. Are they not both valid enough to receive proper care? The reality of our medical practices suggests, “No”. Society turns neglects the mental health of individuals. School shootings, suicides, homelessness, education, and overall a country’s infrastructure relies heavily on citizens’ minds. The Declaration of Independence declares all men are created equal; therefore, the government needs to concern for everyone equally. Mentally ill citizens deserve justice through equal recognition and treatment in today’s society amongst the other medical emergencies.
School shootings are still prominent in America – why? Many might try to claim lack of gun control, but ask yourself: Why did they begin a shooting rampage in the first place? Because healthy people occasionally get bored of shooting ranges and go all out? Because they can? There is much more to that than we realize. Aaron Alexis, a man who went on a shooting rampage within the Washington Navy Yard was diagnosed with severe paranoia, and as possessing the behavior of a schizophrenic and psychopath. He killed 11 people. His peers in his life stated he never received treatment.
“He went to a V.A. hospital with acute insomnia, which is sometimes a sign of underlying mental disorders, and yet no one screened him there for mental illness, not even for P.T.S.D., which should be a standard procedure at V.A. hospitals.” (The New Yorker)
Leaning towards the untreated lies another unspoken problem: suicides.
“According to Befriender’s statistics, in the last 45 years suicide rates have increased by 60% worldwide. Mental health disorders (particularly depression and substance abuse) are associated with more than 90% of all cases of suicide.” (Befrienders.org)
As baffling unreal as that last percentage may seem and even if it might prove to be a rough estimate, it still indicates the sick minds account for several suicides. Not to mention amongst these suicides are more commonly men. Men are three times more likely to kill themselves, according to WHO. (World Health Organization)
“Unfortunately, suicide all too often fails to be prioritized as a major public health problem,” said Margaret Chan, WHO’s director-general.
This presents the quintessential reason behind doing harm to oneself: not expressing your feelings. Through societal standards, men are put unto harsher criticism if they display emotions, thus, unlikely to seek help they need. While suicidal individuals may at least seek treatment, others have absolutely no resources or capabilities to do so. This transitions to homelessness.
“People with untreated psychiatric illnesses comprise one-third, or 250,000, of the estimated 744,000 homeless population.” (Mentalillnesspolicy.org)
From a utilitarian perspective, it would be noted that this damages the economic development. That’s nearly a million citizens unable to function normally, possibly not enough to even communicate properly. From a Utilitarian perspective, John Rawls declares equal distribution of goods serving as equal opportunity. This translates to every person receiving fair concern in the social scene as well as treatment in the doctor’s office. Instead of silencing these struggling people are committing these crimes or lying on the subway station floor, fixate on to why.
Finally, there remains a different phenomenon around the mental stigma: diagnosing patients as mentally problematic too much. For example, students in the USA receiving medication for supposedly having ADHD/ADD have increased tremendously within decades.
“In Germany, for instance, 2.2% of kids were treated for hyperkinetic disorder (roughly speaking, the European equivalent of ADHD) in 2007; that’s an increase of 53% for boys and 69% for girls since 2000. Treatment among older kids, those 15 to 18, doubled during the same period.” (Healthland.time.com)
Since physical and severe verbal punishment is commonly prohibited amongst public schools, faculty results in other alternatives to calming them down- literally drugging them. Discarding the slippery slope theory that kids are naturally receiving ADHD more often, I believe this is a mere lack of knowledge and laziness on the adult’s part. Kids are naturally rambunctious! The behavioral attitudes of kids are picked up as negative symptoms to parents. They were never mentally troubled in the first place. Instead of associating with positive reinforcement activities to motivate the students such as physical play or exciting games, staff resort to the easy way out. This presents a relevant aspect to prove the need for better understanding of how to identify mental problems and how to react.
Mental illness receives too much social stigma to be recognized and treated properly. Society dismisses it as unimportant, too costly, or not legitimate. Educating normal individuals, especially younger generations, of the truth is a great start. Every person must view the symptoms of mental illness as vital as knowing CPR. Formulating programs with a voluntary helping hand is another tactic, whether it be a movement to require regular check-ups or charities to lower medication and therapy costs. This blockage to the human progression of innovation, creativity, and kindness of society may be curable with baby steps.
Works Cited
Solomon, Andrew. "An Avoidable Tragedy: Aaron Alexis and Mental Illness - The New Yorker." The New Yorker. The New Yorker, 20 Sept. 2013. Web. 2 Oct. 2014. <http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/an-avoidable-tragedy-aaron-alexis-and-mental-illness>.
"Suicide Statistics | Befrienders." Suicide Statistics | Befrienders. Befrienders Worldwide, n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2014. <http://www.befrienders.org/suicide-statistics>.
Torrey, Fuller E. "Homeless Mentally Ill Facts, Figures and Anecdotes- MENTAL ILLNESS POLICY ORG." Homeless Mentally Ill Facts, Figures and Anecdotes. Mental Illness Policy Org., n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2014. <http://mentalillnesspolicy.org/consequences/homeless-mentally-ill.html>.
Cloud, John, and John Cloud. "ADHD: A Global Epidemic or Just a Bunch of Fidgety Kids? | TIME.com." Time. Time, 22 Sept. 2010. Web. 20 Oct. 2014. <http://healthland.time.com/2010/09/22/adhd-a-global-epidemic-or-just-a-bunch-of-fidgety-kids/>.
-Artist Statement-
My political campaign piece represents my perspective on the epidemic of mental illness. There deserves to be fewer stigmas associated around it and more attention. Specific parts of it symbolize concepts of social institutional inequality. My main purpose is to display the perspective of the mentally injured from an inside look. This piece plays on mostly pathos. It intends to alter the behavior and views of individuals witnessing dilemmas of the mentally impaired. This is a sculpture of a brain with band-aids decorated on it. The band-aids have phrases often received to troubled citizens: "Cheer up" or "Calm down, stop being so paranoid.". This depicts the social doubt and stigma mental illness receives. These represent how trivial brain sickness is seen to the healthy-merely a mood swing. The reason they're band-aids is showing how little effect those words mean to a disease so much more deeper. Band-aids cannot heal a knee-deep gash so motivational phrases do not heal a brain disease. The brain is also inflamed with tints of red to portray how alarmed the brain can feel during a cocktail of mood swings to hallucinations, screaming inside. I'm satisfied with my depiction of the misunderstanding and mistreatment toward the mentally ill. The rhetorical elements of pathos plays through identifying the hurtful phrases said to the disadvantaged and directing it back to the advantaged. When healthy-minded people observe my sculpture, hopefully they will recognize some of those words and consider using them less. Hopefully the tone it gives off through the inflamed vessels will speak to those doubtful of the legitimacy. And hopefully I will be more informed through insightful responses that will comes from my artist visual piece.