The Aztecs, the most famous indigenous tribe of North America, were most commonly known for their brutal human sacrifices in which European explorers described ceremonies where a person would have their beating heart torn from their chest. To the Europeans’ amazement, many of those being sacrificed were willing volunteers from the community. Though this custom may seem savage or inhumane to outsiders, within Aztec culture the ritual was completely justified and logical. This concept of separate realities applies also on a personal level in that past encounters alter the reality a person lives in. In the words of film director Tim Burton, “One person’s craziness is another person’s reality”. Nearly any action could be considered rational due
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Addiction is by far the most common cause of mental instability because of the abundance of opportunities for it to enter one’s life. For example, cigarettes, found in just about every convenience store in the nation, are incredibly addictive. To an educated mainstream audience, cigarettes are not appealing products because of their carcinogenic contents and destructive effects on the human body which have been brought to light by countless anti-tobacco campaigns; however, when presented to a nicotine addict, cigarettes are a “necessity” to function properly despite the user’s knowledge of the drastic repercussions of continued usage. In this situation, the addicts are aware that the decisions they are making are entirely impractical, though they are no longer in full control of their actions, instead a product dictates their health and budget. Dr. Volkow, the Director of the National Institute of Drug Abuse, stated in an interview with HBO that drug abuse damages impulse control within one’s brain, preventing one from making rational decisions. Dr. Volkow then makes the comparison, "it 's like when the brakes in your car don 't function, and an onlooker says, 'You should have stopped at the red light! Why didn 't you brake?” (Volkow). This statement illustrates an addict’s reality perfectly, the perpetrator obviously knew not stopping for the red light …show more content…
PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder), is the most widely known example of past experience altering the mental health of a person, but not all traumatic encounters need to be of such caliber to affect one’s reality. Bullying is perhaps the most common type of trauma experienced. According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, as of 2015, about 22 percent of children admitted to being bullied during the school year. This means that one in four American children is not developing healthily, and will not only be physically, but mentally isolated from his or her peers. The prolonged isolation and trauma a bullying victim undergoes will transform the reality of the child, causing developmental issues. These hitches in mental growth then lead to abnormal behavior, which often times is not empathized with or analyzed, but instead dismissed because of the onlookers lack of shared experience. Experiences that are traumatic are often some of the most influential in one’s life, causing long term repercussions such as insecurity, depression, and violent actions that further segregate the victim’s reality from
Addiction is by far the most common cause of mental instability because of the abundance of opportunities for it to enter one’s life. For example, cigarettes, found in just about every convenience store in the nation, are incredibly addictive. To an educated mainstream audience, cigarettes are not appealing products because of their carcinogenic contents and destructive effects on the human body which have been brought to light by countless anti-tobacco campaigns; however, when presented to a nicotine addict, cigarettes are a “necessity” to function properly despite the user’s knowledge of the drastic repercussions of continued usage. In this situation, the addicts are aware that the decisions they are making are entirely impractical, though they are no longer in full control of their actions, instead a product dictates their health and budget. Dr. Volkow, the Director of the National Institute of Drug Abuse, stated in an interview with HBO that drug abuse damages impulse control within one’s brain, preventing one from making rational decisions. Dr. Volkow then makes the comparison, "it 's like when the brakes in your car don 't function, and an onlooker says, 'You should have stopped at the red light! Why didn 't you brake?” (Volkow). This statement illustrates an addict’s reality perfectly, the perpetrator obviously knew not stopping for the red light …show more content…
PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder), is the most widely known example of past experience altering the mental health of a person, but not all traumatic encounters need to be of such caliber to affect one’s reality. Bullying is perhaps the most common type of trauma experienced. According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, as of 2015, about 22 percent of children admitted to being bullied during the school year. This means that one in four American children is not developing healthily, and will not only be physically, but mentally isolated from his or her peers. The prolonged isolation and trauma a bullying victim undergoes will transform the reality of the child, causing developmental issues. These hitches in mental growth then lead to abnormal behavior, which often times is not empathized with or analyzed, but instead dismissed because of the onlookers lack of shared experience. Experiences that are traumatic are often some of the most influential in one’s life, causing long term repercussions such as insecurity, depression, and violent actions that further segregate the victim’s reality from