Today, a series premiere of a new show called, “Black Box” aired on ABC.  The show is about a world famous neurologist who, while helping others deal with their own mental disabilities, hides the fact that she herself has bipolar/ manic depression disorder. During the show the writers depict the disorder, for example when Dr. Black goes off of her medication and goes into a manic episode. During the episode, she dances on edges of windows and balconies and thinks that she is invincible, almost like she is a super hero and nothing could stop her. But during one of her manic episodes she had to give a speech about her work to the Neurological Institute of America, where she mentioned all of these famously recognized individuals who our society idolizes, that also have had mental disorders. A few that she mentioned were Ernest Hemingway, Sylvia Plath, Billy Holiday, Charles Dickens, Herman Melville, and even Van Gogh, who was actually in a mental hospital when he painted the masterpiece, Starry Night. What shocked while listening to this speech was not only how many people have been through this tragic and awful disease, but also how many people have truly never experienced a world where they had a stable emotion. Later on in the episode when she speaks about her disorder she says she has a “history of non-compliance” which means she goes off of her meds, because of the rush, the incredible high, and the empowerment she feels and the beauty she sees in life when she doesn’t take them, obviously describing her manic phase. Not that I can ever understand what it could feel like to go through any of this, but I believe this show depicts the disorder extremely well, showing people the side of the ill who go through this everyday, and the challenges they face.  The show also brings up how her mother was bipolar and how the disease is hereditary, and how her elder brother was lucky and didn’t get the disease, but she did. Overall, I believe that with not only our lecture on Bipolar disorder but also the show I have a better understanding of the disease.

            Today, a series premiere of a new show called, “Black Box” aired on ABC.  The show is about a world famous neurologist who, while helping others deal with their own mental disabilities, hides the fact that she herself has bipolar/ manic depression disorder. During the show the writers depict the disorder, for example when Dr. Black goes off of her medication and goes into a manic episode. During the episode, she dances on edges of windows and balconies and thinks that she is invincible, almost like she is a super hero and nothing could stop her. But during one of her manic episodes she had to give a speech about her work to the Neurological Institute of America, where she mentioned all of these famously recognized individuals who our society idolizes, that also have had mental disorders. A few that she mentioned were Ernest Hemingway, Sylvia Plath, Billy Holiday, Charles Dickens, Herman Melville, and even Van Gogh, who was actually in a mental hospital when he painted the masterpiece, Starry Night. What shocked while listening to this speech was not only how many people have been through this tragic and awful disease, but also how many people have truly never experienced a world where they had a stable emotion. Later on in the episode when she speaks about her disorder she says she has a “history of non-compliance” which means she goes off of her meds, because of the rush, the incredible high, and the empowerment she feels and the beauty she sees in life when she doesn’t take them, obviously describing her manic phase. Not that I can ever understand what it could feel like to go through any of this, but I believe this show depicts the disorder extremely well, showing people the side of the ill who go through this everyday, and the challenges they face.  The show also brings up how her mother was bipolar and how the disease is hereditary, and how her elder brother was lucky and didn’t get the disease, but she did. Overall, I believe that with not only our lecture on Bipolar disorder but also the show I have a better understanding of the disease. 

On a slightly regular basis, if I am stressed out, I could easily find myself saying that I’m going to have a “panic attack.” Or, maybe while I am talking about things I am afraid of, I say that I have the “biggest phobia of the doctors” or lastly, if I walk into someone’s clean room and they tell me and the others “they have OCD.” But, as I sat in lecture I realized that I, along with plenty of other individuals, have said that I have a disease, disorder, or phobia, when in reality I have never realized -to an extent- what I was actually saying. Someone freaking out about a management exam or not having an outfit for formal doesn’t mean I am having a “panic attack.” It couldn’t be farther from the truth, that it’s actually quite alarming that we as individuals use these words so regularly in our vocabulary. Why does someone being a neat and organized person have to use the excuse “oh I’m like OCD I hate when my stuff is messed up.” instead of the simple and correct response of “I’m a neat freak.” Or even the difference between a phobia and a fear, and how we exaggerate the things that we feel in order to think that there is something abnormal about it. It’s actually extremely bizarre to me if I think about it in this perspective that people make up diseases or phobias or even disorders they have to make excuses for things that are NORMAL behavior! Even the way people use “heart attack”, “anxiety attack” and “panic attack” interchangeably when something negative, which wasn’t what they expected to happen. It is like people feel they need a reason or something to call an emotion, instead of the simple “I’m freaking out!” People use these words meaninglessly, and on some level if you think about it, it’s actually disrespectful. People change their whole lives around avoiding their phobias but I just cry after I get a shot at the doctor, so I hate going there and will try to not get sick so I don’t have to go, but yet I unknowingly put those two feelings in the same category.  That lecture really has opened my eyes to see that I actually never fully understood these phobias and diseases I thought I was talking about, and I want to be way more careful with the wording I choose to describe myself.

In psych we learned about memory and memory impairments. One of the topics we spoke about was memory loss and when people can’t forget anything. We called that hyperthymesia. I found it really interesting that people with this condition aren’t able to be functional. I also found it interesting how Hollywood and tv glamorize conditions and/or give false interpretations. Besides the movie 50 First Dates giving us a false idea of memory loss, a show on CBS called Unforgettable gives us a false interpretation of hyperthymesia. The show’s about a woman who helps solve crimes because she can remember everything including the crime scene, witnesses, and facts from the case. Using all of these things she makes this memory condition look glamorous as by being an unstoppable crime fighter and a confident woman in a make dominant precinct. When we spoke about this condition in class, I was shocked that actually a woman that I look up to actually wouldn’t be functional in real life. It is amazing what TV makes us believe is real when in reality, no one would want to have a condition like that.

The debate between nature versus nurture has been going on for centuries. Was I born the person I am today, or was taught to be who I am? I still struggle with the answer to this question. My parents are the two most wonderful people I have ever known in my entire life. They are the hardest working, sincere and real people I believe have ever walked this earth. The two of them worked for everything that they have and that they were able to supply for my brother and me. That being said, I know for a fact I never want to do nothing with my life, and I will never be a “housewife” or a “stay at home mom.” There is nothing wrong with wanting those paths for oneself, but that life is not for me. I was taught from a very young age that no one should have to give me things, no matter who they are to me, and that working hard and being successful is more rewarding than having things given to you. This mindset has carried over onto various things I have achieved and accomplished. For example, as president of Theatre when I was a senior in high school, I went above and beyond the “call of duty” and did everything I possibly could to make sure the club itself and all of its performances were up and ready.  If I were not placed in a household that had such strong values on hard work and work ethic, I don’t know if I would have tried this hard. But I don’t know if the “nurture” aspect can apply to everything. My family and I watch Criminal Minds together on Wednesdays, and for those who don’t know, Criminal Minds is a show about hunting serial killers and psychopaths.  Although none of these cases are real, that doesn’t mean that things like this don’t happen in real life. But that doesn’t mean it was taught to anyone who has done these horrific acts, nor does it mean that the actions of a serial killer or psychopath have anything to do with the world that they are living in. Granted, most of these people have traumatic pasts and stories that have affected their childhood, but none of these people were brought up to think that killing masses of innocent human beings was okay or normal. I don’t think that there is any set answer to the debate, at least not in this point in history.