Much has been written about the pervasiveness of the media in our everyday lives—from television shows, to ads on the sides of buses, to friend’s posts on Facebook, we are constantly being exposed to the media in all its forms. As such, it is no wonder that the information and images shown in the media have such large impacts on our understanding of the world around us. This profound influence which the media has on our beliefs can be dangerous, however, when the information being spread is less-than-true, or presented in a way that makes misinterpretation of the facts not only possible, but easy. Such is the case with many aspects of the field of Psychology, but perhaps none more so than mental illness. How can findings about a subject not
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But not all of these stereotypes are inherently negative or fear-inducing. One of the stereotypes of those who suffer from mental illness is that of the “tortured genius” whose greatest creations are only produced when they are in the throes of their illness. Although often attributed to psychologist and author Kay Jamison’s 1989 book Touched With Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament, this stereotype has in fact existed for centuries, coming from as far back as the ancient Greek philosophers who believed that artists shared a specific temperament (Klein, …show more content…
For example, the title of an interview aired on Good Morning America was “Rick Springfield On Battle with Depression, Promiscuity” (Sher, L. 2010). Equating the musician’s past promiscuity with his diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder implies that he is able to control his mental illness in the same way that he can control his infidelity, and that his struggles with both are somehow of equal importance and gravity. This trend towards downplaying depressive symptoms is observable in many other articles about both Depression and Bipolar
But not all of these stereotypes are inherently negative or fear-inducing. One of the stereotypes of those who suffer from mental illness is that of the “tortured genius” whose greatest creations are only produced when they are in the throes of their illness. Although often attributed to psychologist and author Kay Jamison’s 1989 book Touched With Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament, this stereotype has in fact existed for centuries, coming from as far back as the ancient Greek philosophers who believed that artists shared a specific temperament (Klein, …show more content…
For example, the title of an interview aired on Good Morning America was “Rick Springfield On Battle with Depression, Promiscuity” (Sher, L. 2010). Equating the musician’s past promiscuity with his diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder implies that he is able to control his mental illness in the same way that he can control his infidelity, and that his struggles with both are somehow of equal importance and gravity. This trend towards downplaying depressive symptoms is observable in many other articles about both Depression and Bipolar