One of the negative stereotypes of mental illness is that it leads people to be violent and unpredictable. The movies and TV shows that millions of people are watching have helped create this myth, as well as the daily news.
Honestly, I’ve never been a big fan of watching the news because so many of the stories are scary or depressing. So many of the stories revolve around murder or other heinous acts going on in society and it gets kind of tiring to listen to. In particular, I don’t really like how the news can be skewed a particular way, especially when it comes to mental illness.
A lot of people who commit crimes will try to get out of them by claiming they have some sort of a mental illness. It’s not unlikely for someone who had lit his ex-girlfriend’s car on fire to claim that he had some kind of sickness in order to get out of jail time. Examples like that one (which are constantly in the news) put a negative spotlight on mental illness.
Not only that, but when you’re watching (or listening) to the news, often times the anchors will say something like, “Mr. Jones lit his dog on fire for a reason that isn’t yet obvious. However, he recently had depression.” By stating that he recently had depression, it’s like they’re trying to use mental illness in order to justify the violent acts that are going on. Depression likely wasn’t the reason the dog was lit on fire and it’s giving the public a bad impression of mental disorders. (this was actually a real example that occurred in the news in Florida.)
However, the news can also be used to gain mental health awareness. Certain cases make society take a hard look at how they treat people with mental illnesses and how more resources need to be made available.
In the article link posted above, a man in Texas was set to be put to death for killing his wife’s parents with a rifle in 1992. In his trial, he tried to call on more than 200 different witnesses, including the pope, John F. Kennedy, and Jesus. This case made people take a stern look at how mental health issues are addressed within society.
“The case has drawn an outcry not only from death penalty opponents, but also from people who believe that the Eighth Amendment forbids the execution of anyone with an illness that may have made the person unaware of his or her actions. The state has contended in legal filings that conversations between Mr. Panetti and his parents, secretly taped by prison officials, “provide conclusive evidence that Panetti has a rational understanding of the relationship between his crime and his punishment” and that he “has been grossly exaggerating his symptoms while being observed.”” (Montgomery, 2014).
Mental Health, Society, and Social Media 