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Literature Reviews
The topic of mental illness is something that is still stigmatized in todays society. We, as
a people, are very afraid of the things we dont know much about. There is a lot of ignorance
about these illnesses, and most recently, there has been a very disconcerting trend that has been
affecting teenagers in the United States. As a result of being part of the Y Generation, we are
so caught up in the use of technology and social media that we are subconsciously developing
skewed opinions on issues we do not know much about. Because of this, teenagers have been
falling prey to a new sort of idea, which is the romanticism and glorification of mental illness.
The act of romanticizing mental illnesses is defined as taking a mental disorder, most commonly
depression, and encouraging it by calling it things such as beautiful, mysterious, or brave.
In other words, it is making it seem like having a mental disorder is wonderful and perfect and
unique. Because of this, the number of teenagers reporting symptoms of mental disorders is
increasing at a constant rate through the years.
In the article Social Media Is Redefining 'Depression, written by Anne-Sophie Bine for
The Atlantic Magazine, Bine addresses how teenagers, females in particular, are now redefining
what they believe can be considered depression. Bine goes on to talk about how we are now
perpetuating idea of some sort of beautiful illness, when in actuality, there is nothing beautiful
or romantic about it. The fact that people are being exposed to posts on social media pages
saying almost promoting these toxic lifestyle choices. This can be especially confusing to
teenagers, who are in the peak of their development, and because they are in their more
vulnerable years, as quoted by Dr. Mark Reinecke, chief psychologist at Northwestern
Memorial Hospital. Teenagers are in the years where they are seeking acceptance and
affirmation from their peers, and if they give the illusion that they are mysterious, brooding, and
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strong people, they trick themselves and believe that they are tricking others into thinking that
they are worth more and will be susceptible to glorification and admiration. Bine then began
discussing how people have gotten into the habit of picking up words such as depressed and
using them in place of more appropriate words. According to Dr. Stan Kutcher of Sun Life
Adolescent Mental Health, When we use the word depression for every negative emotional
state, the word loses its meaning. Kutcher says this over-diagnosis of normal human experience
is indeed a social trend. This article was an essential in building up my thesis of the increasing
rate of mental illness and the potential reasons for why this trend might be catching fire. I also
realized that because of the many quotes that were given in the article from credible sources,
there was a sense of ethos it offered.
The next source that I had gotten information from was the National Alliance of Mental
Illness. This source was very important in offering the logos aspect of my research because it
contains various credible sources, and while not offering a direct opinion. I had started my
research on their website by collecting information from studies and statistics that the
organization had compiled through the years, and I had used that information to find both
correlations and averages of the involvement of social media and the increase of mental disorders
or reports of said mental disorders. Once I had collected enough data to make my own
conclusions, I went back and found more information on mental illnesses themselves. Using the
information given by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), I was able to find that the
average number of people suffering from mental illness is a total of 3.56% of the population
(11,318,798 people). Of this 3.56%, teenagers make up a total of 11% of that number (1,245,067
teenagers).
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My social issues main goal is not to discredit or doubt the reality or severity of mental
illnesses, but rather to educate those who are either confused about what having a mental
disorder really is and assisting those who actually do have mental disorders. My final source was
from the Society for the Prevention of Teen Suicide (SPTS) and I had used a passage from a
mother, Barbara Barisonek, who had lost her son because he had committed suicide. I felt that
this first-person account for the true tolls that mental illnesses can have on both those who have
them and those around people who have them is a perfect pathos piece to use for my social issue.
The personal account tells of a mother who lost her son to suicide because of his severe
depression. She had, like many parents, stated that, Depression, to me at the time, was a way of
describing feeling very sadnot knowing what to do about decisions that needed to be made by
a person entering adulthood. (Barisonek). Barisonek mentioned that even though her son Duke
was surrounded by a very close group of people, no one truly understood what it meant to be
depressed, and no one knew how severe his case would be. Unfortunately, in the end, Duke had
taken his life and no one knew how to prevent it. This is the kind of situation that I want to end. I
want to be able to start these organizations that do not accept losses and mourn deaths, but
educate and prevent deaths caused by suicide or other mental illnesses from occurring.