We all know someone who has dealt with or is dealing with a mental illness. With the war there has been a lot of focus on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and how that is affecting our troops. But PTSD isn’t the only disorder affecting America; from dissociative identity disorder, to schizophrenia and its various differences, Americans are facing some overwhelming and powerful psychological disorders. According to the National Institute of Mental Health one in four adults eighteen and older have some form of mental illness, in children one in five have at least one form of mental illness themselves. In today society you see two extremes with mental illness, one of constantly seeking attention for disorders which they do not have or those whom do not seek the help they need due to stigmas associated with mental health.
For hundreds of years a person suffering from a mental illness was often shut off from the rest of the world, most were place in an asylum. At that point in history, little was know about mental health or psychiatry for that matter, leading to some poor treatment which has left a taint on some people’s opinions of mental health. Schizophrenia was one and still is one of the diseases that little is known about. The United States Congress published a book in 1994 describing the effects of schizophrenia on a person. What they wrote is that a persons thought processes, perceptions, emotions and behaviors are all affected. Many have hallucination and delusions that interrupted their daily lives (United States Congress 114). Sandra Ackerman writes that “schizophrenia is named for the abnormal division or split (“schizo”) between thought and emotion that characterizes the disorder in many cases” (64). It is known to affect over one million people in the United States and has had a leading role in films such as Donnie Darko, A Beautiful Mind and Through a Glass Darkly. These films give a general overlay of the disorder but don’t really explain much, if anything, that the characters suffering from schizophrenia go through. The limited information coupled with the films often leave a bad impression on the viewer, leading them to think that all patients with schizophrenia are either gifted like Nash from A Beautiful Mind or with some dark fantasy world like Donnie.
In the book, Knowledge in Ferment, they describe Dissociative Identity disorder as a person with “two or more distinct personality states with impaired recall among the different personalities (108).” People suffering from dissociative identity disorder can have block of time where they don’t remember anything and in some cases, have even done something criminal. It is that angle that Hollywood is known to take. With films like Psycho, Fight Club and even The Lord of the Rings: the Two Towers and Return of the King, they showcase character’s in homicidal or incredibly violent roles. With all the negative attention, people think that anyone with a dissociative disorder or multiple personality disorder are violent and dangerous. The idea even transitions into those with schizophrenia, giving people the wrong idea.
The lack of information couple with the stereotypes that Hollywood has place on these disorders has caused the public to have many misconception of a greater number of illnesses. People need to get a better understanding of the conditions affecting the American public before making a snap judgment of some one with a mental illness. In order for people to get the help they need, they need the support of friends, family and their community.
Works Cited
Ackerman, Sandra. Discovering the Brain. Washington D.C: National Academy Press, 1992
Beenakker, Carlo, et al. Knowledge in Ferment: Dilemmas in Science, Scholarships and Society. The Netherlands: Leiden University Press, 2007
“Statistics.” National Institute of Mental Health. 06, Aug. 2009. < http://www.nimh.nih.gov/index.shtml>
United States Congress. Mental Disorders and Genetics: Bridging the Gap Between Research and Society. Washington D.C: GPO, 1994
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