Television programmes praised over portrayal of mental health in storylines:
Media's Damaging Depictions of Mental Illness
Television programmes praised over portrayal of mental health in storylines: Media's Damaging Depictions of Mental Illness
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![]() 1) Depression Quest: Is an interactive game developed by Zoe Quinn, it's designed to explore the nature of depression, and it allows people who haven't suffered from depression to experience how it can affect ones mood, energy and motivation. In the game the character is initially unaware of why they are so unmotivated and miserable, and why even some of the simplest tasks feel challenging. As the game goes on the character navigates through a treatment regiment that depends on your actions. The main gaming mechanism used is based around multiple choice questions, and each decision you make has an impact on the characters work life, and relationships. During the game certain choices given to the player will be crossed out, depending on the characters emotional state at the time. The options being crossed out are usually the most logical choice, which demonstrates how depression can impact ones decision making abilities. 2) SPARX (Smart, Positive, Active, Realistic, X-factor thoughts): Is a 3D role playing game developed by a university in New Zealand, designed to treat mild to moderate depression in adolescents. The game is set in a fantasy world, and delivers cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) without having to go see a therapist. According to clinical trails the SPARX game was 20% more affective for teens suffering from depression then just using counselling. The SPARX game guides the player through a comprehensive CBT treatment, players are asked questions that allow the computer to make an assessment of the players initial state, and then it decides on the appropriate course of treatment. The game will also guides the player through strategies on how to deal with anger, frustration, and depression, with the goal of building coping skills. 3) Elude: Aims to teach people the nature of depression, just like Depression Quest. However Elude uses metaphors to illustrate depression. The game begins in a dark gloomy forest symbolizing depression, and it goes from there. The feeling of depression is symbolized by dark lighting and confined spaces, the game also represents lethargy and loss of motivation which is found in depression, which controls the character being sluggish and unresponsive. Although Elude isn't as explicit as Depression Quest it represents what depression feels like through changes in lighting, music, and ambience. Doing yoga provides many mental, psychological, and cognitive benefits. The very first benefits is that yoga improves an individuals psychological and mental well being. According to the British Psychological Society, yoga involves the great concentration on a persons breathing and body, which will in turn soothe a person's mind and relieve their worries. By helping get rid of tension and stress, yoga poses and breathing exercises keep a person free from such negative elements. Ultimately people who do yoga will be able to achieve psychological health.
Yoga also helps with sleep, people who do yoga usually end up sleeping better and longer. Studies have been able to prove that yoga causes a chemical change in the body which is similar to antidepressants and psychotherapy, such as; reduced inflammation and improved neurotransmitters Another benefit of yoga is that it helps with both anxiety and depression. Yoga has been proven successful in helping reduce anxiety and depression because of the activities involved in yoga such as; meditation, socialization, relaxation, and exercise. Yoga is able to help people with anxiety and depression by regulating a person's stress response system. Yoga has the ability to lower blood pressure, heart rate, and improve a person's respiration. Yoga also has the power to boost memory and improve concentration, according to Women's Fitness. The practice of concentration known as "Dharana" is the best way to clear a person's mind and calm their senses. When using "Dharana" people are able to focus their mind by removing static noise, which allows people to be able to concentrate and perform much better on tasks. Yoga can prevent the onset of mental health conditions, which are prevalent during the teenage years. Yoga has been a useful method to protect teens from mental illnesses, according to study done by the Journal of Development and Behavioral Pediatrics. It was found that students who did yoga had better moods, lower levels of anxiety, better control over their emotions, increased resilience, and enhanced mindfulness; compared to students who didn't do yoga. References: http://www.mensfitness.com/training/new-study-yoga-improves-your-mental-health http://examinedexistence.com/the-five-mental-and-psychological-benefits-of-yoga/ Facts on Mental Illness: - Depression is the most common mental health problem among women - Unipolar depression is 2x as common in women as in men - Women are 3x more likely than men to engage in non-fatal suicidal behavior and constitute 54% of suicide attempts but are actually less likely to commit suicide - 18% of suicides are committed by women (the 17th ranking cause of death), while 82% of suicides are committed by men (the 9th ranking cause of death). - 23% of women vs. 16.9% of men are diagnosed with mental illness - 10 million women in America suffer from an eating disorder - 1 in 5 people suffer from a mental illness in America - 2 out of 3 people with a mental illness go without treatment, due to inability to access care and stigma - 2.6 million American adults have schizophrenia, 15.7 million have major depressive disorder, 61.2 million are affected by a mental illness, 6.1 million have bipolar disorder - More than 50% of students with a mental illness age 14+ drop out of high school - 1 in 5 children have a mental disorder - 1 in 2 will never receive treatment - 40% of people with a mental illness have more then one disorder - $247 billion is spent every year in America on healthcare for those with mental disorders under the age of 24 - 3x more adults take antidepressants now than 10 years ago - Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of all mental illnesses - In America 55,000 people with a mental illness are in psychiatric hospitals, 3000,000 prison inmates are mentally ill, and 40% of the homeless have a chronic severe mental illness. ![]() Stephen Amell star of the CW hit series “Arrow” uses the power of social media and networking to target mental health awareness. His new campaign was launched with all proceeds going to a specific mental health charity. Stephen’s campaign didn’t specifically target any particular aspect of mental health awareness, but rather all the different things that this struggle means to different people. Stephen also made his fans a part of his project; he created the word “Sinceriously” and wanted his fans to come up with a definition for it, on what the word means to them. As a community he wanted his fans to define the word, and the best definitions would be featured on the merchandise being sold for his mental health awareness campaign.
Social Media allows the ability to discuss, create, cooperate, share and modify information through images, text, audio, and videos, among users of social networking sites like; Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. The role of social media in campaigns like this is called ‘shared awareness’, and this awareness can be used for all sorts of things. Social media has really transformed the way be interact with one another socially, technology has become so advanced that we are able to access anything anytime with a click of a button. Social media outlets and networking come in handy for campaigns looking to spread awareness, since they can become widely known in a matter of days to hours. For instance Stephen Amell did a previous campaign for F*ck Cancer, he posted on his Facebook about the campaign and how all proceeds would go towards cancer research, his ultimate goal was to sell about 500 shirts and raise close to $10,000, but in the course of a month he was able to sell 62,478 in merchandise and make $1 million dollars. Social Media has really become a powerful way of interacting with one another and with the use of networking bringing about awareness of anything can become widespread and have amazing results. ![]() http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/dec/12/-sp-guardian-observer-christmas-appeal-kidstime This article looks at helping children care for parents and siblings with mental illness. "Kidstime" is a charity that supports children and youth affected by mental illness of either a parent of sibling. This charity occurs once a month for both children/youth and their parents. The aim of the charity is on children and youth, where they are able to meet with other families in the same kinds of situations as them, and how they deal and cope. Alan Cooklin a family psychiatrist came up with this idea of "Kidstime" after attending a health conference in 1999. Cookling realized after talking to a couple of children/youth caring for a parent/sibiling with mental illness, that nobody was explaining anything to them about mental illness. During "Kidstime" there is food, use of drama and filming by the children and youth, and then discussions of the films with the parents. Alan Cooklin explains in the article that this program is not a form of treatment, but rather a support group where people of similar situations are able to meet and express their emotions together. It doesn't matter how old or young you are anyone is able to give advice based on their experiences of dealing with mental illness. About 70% of children who are carers of someone with a mental illness experience loss of education and life chances. They also experience high levels of social isolation, anxiety, and depression. Cooklin hopes that "Kidstime" allows children and youth to help support each other and learn from others experiences of how to deal and cope with caring for someone with mental illness. There are many other programs and services that help support carer's besides "Kidstime". For instance "The Mental Health Respite: Carer Support (MHR: CS)" provides a range of support options for carers of people with severe mental illnesses. One of their programs is the "On Fire Program" which assists young carers ages 8-17 years who live within families that are affected by mental illness. http://www.sfnsw.org.au/On-Fire/Home#.VPkAVJU5CM8 Another program that helps families struggling with mental illness is the "Family and Carer Mental Health Program (FCMHP)". This program looks at giving support, information, education, and skills on how to appropriately deal with mental illness. The FCMHP aims to improve coping, knowledge and management skills of carers, and improve on their health and well being. http://sd.missionaustralia.com.au/91-family-and-carer-mental-health-program-fcmhp Finally another program geared towards helping carers and their families is "Mental Illness and Family Support Centre", this services goal is to provide support, education, and advocacy to carers and family members who have a mental illness. http://www.mifsc.ca/ I believe that these types of programs and services are useful for families, and young carers, because they should be made equip with skills and information on how best to care for a person with mental illness. For young carers this is especially important since in most cases mental illness isn't discussed with them due to lack of information and stigma. Online resources for young carers would be extremely useful considering that they are a part of the information age, and that technology is now a huge part of our everyday lives. Something that could be useful for young carers is online chat rooms dedicated to helping those caring for someone with a mental illness, instead of a child or adolescent having to talk face to face with a bunch of strangers, there could be a chat room option on some of these sites aimed at helping families and young carers. An online discussion board could also be useful as well, instead of only talking to a single person, young carers would then be able to talk to a bunch of people in similar situations such as themselves, where they would be able to discuss and gain input on an online setting. Since young people are so technologically savvy they may find online resources more useful then other types of resources.
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