For Unit 2, I am thinking of discussing the developed societal views on mental health. I will talk about how these issues used to be pushed off as something that was seemingly dramatic or unreal, and often detested. Many people were shunned for showing signs of mental illness and were mistreated heavily. They were often thrown into “crazy houses” or given extremely cruel treatment. This prolonged the struggle for many to access help within their lifetimes. Even during most of our parents’ childhoods, mental health was overlooked, and that’s why we can see issues of generational trauma inflicted on our growing generations.
Even with the turn of the century, mental health was still seen as a laughable and overlooked matter. For example, celebrities like Amy Winehouse, or Britney Spears, had their images destroyed because of their public breakdowns; these situations are sadly unforgotten and used against them, even in the modern day. However, I think with the presence of COVID-19, many people began to take mental health seriously because we saw how much as a whole we were affected by it. With all the free time on our hands, we were able to relate to one another online or conduct research on sides of ourselves that were maybe repressed. Many people sought help and were often given the reassurance that they needed.
Furthermore, I could bring up the fact that mental illness has, in some ways, been “romanticized” in this contemporary time. With social media in the equation, not everyone is trustworthy. Through social media platforms, some individuals use it to gain attention in sick ways. By making chat rooms, or “gatekeeping” specific illnesses, they led some vulnerable individuals in the wrong direction. Essentially, people thought that they needed to have mental health issues as a way to produce a stronger identity.
Overall, I am thinking of discussing the cycle of how mental illness at one point was shunned, and now more people are open about or seek to have mental health issues.
This would perfectly fit a strikingly necessary paradigm in contemporary society. Connecting the mental health crisis to social media should give you more than enough specific evidence to make a deep analysis.