Prozac Nation

Ever since the concept of mental illness became more mainstream, it has become a widely controversial topic. Based on what has been seen in society, people who are involved with mental disorders are often dehumanized in some way.

There are three things that can be used to define stigma: stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination (Corrigan 16). One type of stigma is called public-stigma, which is “the reaction the general population has to people with mental illness” (Corrigan 16). The media plays a large role in creating stereotypes and misconceptions. People tend to believe whatever they see on television, in movies, on the Internet, etc. Three of the common misconceptions created by the media are, “ people with mental illness are homicidal maniacs who need to be feared; they have childlike perceptions of the world that should be marveled; or they are responsible for their illness because they have weak character.” (Corrigan 29-32). These are traits most frequently used to describe those with mental illness and almost all of them are inaccurate. While, yes, there are people who do possess one or more of those traits, they are almost never seen out and about in daily life. The media has an unfortunate responsibility in properly portraying any sort of minority, but yet they still continue to misrepresent these groups. The only reason public-stigma really exists is because people are not fully educated on what it is actually like to have a mental illness. The media’s poor representation is all they know. If the media were to either stop misrepresenting mental illness victims, or portray them in a way that is

People with mental health issues have been viewed and treated in a variety of ways within western society throughout time. Historically if an individual displayed behaviours which disrupted their function in society and defied social norms they were viewed as lunatics, insane or even cursed (Cowan, 2008; Elder & Evans & Nizette, 2009). It is from these past issues that many people still have unreasonable thoughts about mental illness; their misconceptions have created unreasonable fears and negative attitudes toward those who experience it. This negativity brings for many the barriers of not only

To understand the effect of mental illness in the United States you have to examine the past and see how certain issues were resolved. In the 19th century the first known global mental health activist was Dorothea Dix. Her work helped to bring awareness to the topic of mental health and allowed treatment in this field to become more well known. During this time she visited a jail in Massachusetts where she saw that criminals, mentally ill individuals, and people with developmental disabilities were living in unsanitary conditions together. Dorothea’s work helped people to open up their original thoughts and beliefs about mental illness being an actual illness and not being treated as a disease. Today many nonprofit and advocacy groups have limited resources and human capital in the area of research and awareness campaigns

Within the past two decades there’s been a revival in efforts to reduce stigmatization attached to mental illnesses. It was concluded that if mental illnesses were perceived better as ‘real’ diseases by the public that stigma would go down greatly. Reports proposed the idea that better scientific understanding of mental illnesses by the general public could greatly reduce stigma. Stigma is intensely rooted in social and cultural norms it’s patterns devalue and dehumanize groups of individuals within society (in this case mentally ill people). Stigma constructs barriers for individuals, barriers that limit a person’s abilities to have equal opportunities for employment, safe housing, health care and social relationships.Efforts to reduce stigma in recent years have

The ways of Health Care has advanced tremendously over the centuries, specifically, Psychiatric Care. There is a drastic difference between how the mentally impaired were treated in the 1930s and the now, 21st century. People with mental illnesses in the 21st century can be anyone, they’re just another face you see on the sidewalk, no big deal.

However, the issue is far more complicated than that. Treating depression requires many challenging components, antidepressants are only one them. Each person responds to antidepressants differently, which means that one drug capable of curing everyone does not exist. Antidepressants have proven to be ineffective for patients with mild to moderate symptoms, and what’s more, these drugs that nobody has proven to be completely effective come with some very serious side effects. At the very least, it’s fair to say that medication alone usually is not enough. Treating depression requires therapy and lifestyle changes not medication.

In her 1994 autobiography, author Elizabeth “Lizzie” Wurtzel recounts her struggle with mental illness and how it contributed to the many difficulties she faced.

Mental illnesses have been recognized and acknowledged for thousands of years, but the way they had once been treated and handled differ from the way they are dealt with today. There was a point in time where all mental illnesses were thought of as one and they were treated in a similar way. Many theories were associated with the cause of these mental disorders and many of them today are deemed as obnoxious.

Popular culture played an immense role during the 1990’s, which resulted in a drastic effect on the youth population. To begin, youth identity is something that, back then, and even today, continually pokes at the minds of adolescents. The often demeaning question, “Do I fit in”? is something the youth population took to heart at this time. It became common to make harmful decisions involving drugs and alcohol, as it was seen as a simple way to escape. In addition, the majority of people found it difficult to express themselves, therefore, making it nearly impossible to truly explore their identities. As expressed through Elizabeth Wurtzel's renown novel, Prozac Nation, or even through hit singles

Herng wad Sworth Longfellow once said that “Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad”.Unfortuately, over 50% people are depressed due to circumstances happening around them. Consequently most of them takes these drug called antidepressant which is used to relieve or prevent depression. However, I strongly agree those antidepressants are dangers to human health and society.

MOVIE ASSIGNMENT: “PROZAC NATION” In “Prozac Nation” the movie, this paper will recognize some psychological and social themes like sex, drugs alcohol and depression. The movie is about a freshman student at Harvard that experiences complications in her life from transitioning from high school to college leading her into a deep depression. She is extremely talented at writing, she is impeccable with a pen and she knows it. Early in her life she experiences the divorce of her parents, one of the most important component to happiness for a child is the need to feel safe and loved.

Most licensed psychologists agree that the controlled use of drugs to alleviate certain mental disorder symptoms is necessary. However, the Big Pharma industry has pushed hard to promote the use of medication for solving every type of mental disorder through psychoactive agents. As a result, antipsychotics have become equally ubiquitous as antidepressants, which are most widely prescribed medication today. This will always be an ongoing debate surrounding the excessive use of stimulants to treat

Our current mental health systems has many faults, but we are making progress identifying those afflicted with mental illness. More and more research is being done to help identify causes of these disorders. There have been advancements in new prescription medications and better treatment options too. Many mentally ill patients fall through the cracks - they end up homeless or in prison. We still have a long way to go because prisons can't be used as a form of treatment for the mentally ill.

When we break our arm everyone runs forward to sign the cast but when we say we have depression everyone turns and runs the other way. This author shows how severe depression can form and issues that can be associated with severe depression. The way Elizabeth Wurtzel depicts depression and the substance abuse that can be related to severe depression is  impeccable in her non-fiction novel Prozac Nation. Depression affects more than 350 million people worldwide and is the most common of all the mental illnesses, it doesn’t have a cure but it is manageable with proper medication. Elizabeth Wurtzel has said “ I made ‘Prozac Nation’  a necessary reading because I write necessarily.  I tell my story because it is about everyone else: in 1993, people took pills to relieve the pain just like they do now, but it scared them; it doesn’t anymore, because talk is not cheap at all -- it is tender”i think this is very important  because it shows how hushed the talk about the facts on mental illness are. Although depression is shown to be an individual illness, the author effectively demonstrates the massive toll depression takes on family and friends. For example, depression takes a toll on your family and friends by having to watch you suffer and be in pain and not be able to do anything about it. Secondly, your family and friends are stuck watching as depression takes you