Mental illness is a thriving business nowadays. Supposedly, teenagers have the same mental stability as a psychiatric patient in the 1950’s. We’re quick to diagnose depression, anxiety, ADHD, and more; list off a few symptoms and you’re basically handed the pills. Not to diminish the importance of mental health, but there are plenty of examples of illnesses embedded in us through media and superstition. One of those illnesses thought to be a product of the imagination is Multiple Personality Disorder, or Dissociative Identity Disorder. Doctors and therapists have argued for almost centuries on the credibility of this disease. MPD is a mental disorder characterized by the presence of two or more distinct personality identities. Each may have
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Infamous, because it was later revealed she had faked her personalities in the book Sybil, Exposed. Lacking the attention she wanted from her therapist, she started coming into sessions as different personalities. Due to Dr. Wilburs fascination in DID, she ran with the idea that one of her patients had this disease. After the book Sybil was published, the illness spiked in popularity. Obviously, the fault is on the media. There's also countless studies on the effect of media on depression, anxiety, and eating disorders. Some apps even have content supporting and encouraging eating disorders, such as “thinspo” blogs on Tumblr. These apps and websites can also encourage an addictive state onto the users, the same way someone needs their coffee or cigarettes. What’s the first thing someone does when they wake up? Check their phone. When they’re in an awkward situation? Check their phone. Some are even so addicted that they can’t turn it off while they’re driving. Looking at all these influences on our phone everyday is an issue bigger than most are aware. Throwing it back to the beginning of this essay, we have the same mental stability as a patient in the 50’s. There is so much stimuli that our brains become actually overwhelmed; we have access to so many other people's’ lives and infinite answers through a google search. Studies have confirmed that people tend to undergo a kind of withdrawal: Swansea University found that people experienced the psychological symptoms of withdrawal when they stopped using the internet. Another study found that social media use is linked to greater feelings of social isolation. The team looked at how much people used 11 social media sites, including Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, Vine, Snapchat and Reddit, and correlated this with their “perceived social isolation.” Not surprisingly, it turned out that
Infamous, because it was later revealed she had faked her personalities in the book Sybil, Exposed. Lacking the attention she wanted from her therapist, she started coming into sessions as different personalities. Due to Dr. Wilburs fascination in DID, she ran with the idea that one of her patients had this disease. After the book Sybil was published, the illness spiked in popularity. Obviously, the fault is on the media. There's also countless studies on the effect of media on depression, anxiety, and eating disorders. Some apps even have content supporting and encouraging eating disorders, such as “thinspo” blogs on Tumblr. These apps and websites can also encourage an addictive state onto the users, the same way someone needs their coffee or cigarettes. What’s the first thing someone does when they wake up? Check their phone. When they’re in an awkward situation? Check their phone. Some are even so addicted that they can’t turn it off while they’re driving. Looking at all these influences on our phone everyday is an issue bigger than most are aware. Throwing it back to the beginning of this essay, we have the same mental stability as a patient in the 50’s. There is so much stimuli that our brains become actually overwhelmed; we have access to so many other people's’ lives and infinite answers through a google search. Studies have confirmed that people tend to undergo a kind of withdrawal: Swansea University found that people experienced the psychological symptoms of withdrawal when they stopped using the internet. Another study found that social media use is linked to greater feelings of social isolation. The team looked at how much people used 11 social media sites, including Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, Vine, Snapchat and Reddit, and correlated this with their “perceived social isolation.” Not surprisingly, it turned out that