MHA's Blog: Chiming In

It’s Kind of a Funny Story is a sweet little movie that manages to do something almost unheard of in movies about mental health, especially those in mental hospitals. It treats all of its characters, the patients, the doctors and the love interests, as real people. Heck, it’s even better at character creation than most movies not about people with mental illnesses.

The movie is about a teenager named Craig Gilner. Stressed out from the pressures of school, an application for a prestigious summer program and his friends, he dreams about committing suicide. Concerned, he checks himself into the psychiatric ward of the local hospital, where he is housed with the adults. He meets Bobby, an older man with depression, and the two become friends. He learns about himself through his week on the ward, and about all of the other patients. He even begins to date another teenaged patient named Noelle. By the end of the week, Craig has learned about himself and leaves the ward with a more positive outlook on life.

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Today marks the 104th anniversary of the founding of Mental Health America. Mental Health America was established by Clifford W. Beers. During his stays in public and private institutions, Beers witnessed and was subjected to horrible abuse. From these experiences, Beers set into motion a reform movement that took shape as Mental Health America. To those who suggested that he found his movement anonymously, Beers responded: "I must fight in the open." View this video about our history: http://bit.ly/10ofaMV.

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Suicide, and its image in pop culture, has a long and confusing history. Anyone you ask about suicide will tell you that it’s a horrible thing, especially the suicides of young people but ask anyone about Romeo and Juliet, and it’s the most romantic story in the world. The deaths of the two lovers becomes the final point in their love, not a mistake egged on by adults who want to use the teens for their gains.  One of suicide’s connotations is now the tragic end of teenaged love.

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For the first non-American Horror Story blog, I wanted to start right away with something great, something that helped redefine the way mental health is viewed in pop culture. Instead, I watched the first episode of Do No Harm. The show gave me a good gauge on where pop culture is in regards to Dissociative Identity Disorder, which you might know as Multiple Personality Disorder, and it’s not good.

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Fifty years ago, on February 5, 1963, President John F. Kennedy sent a special message to Congress about the state of mental health.The message marked the first time a President of the United States took specific cognizance of mental illness and mental retardation and stated a national policy. Kennedy called for a bold new approach and emphasized the need to develop preventive programs. His statement contributed to meaningful change in the way Americans view mental health care in the United States.

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