For my Ted Talk, I will be discussing the paradigm shift surrounding mental health. From originally being seen as a form of satanic possession, to presently being gatekept as a glamorized trait to hold, the societal view over mental health has taken plenty of twists and turns throughout time.
Introduction:
Give a little background on mental health itself. Discuss how mental illness was seen in the past and how it was treated. Give a time period as well.
First “Turning Point”:
Discuss Dorothea Dix, and how she was a reformer for the world of mental health. Then I will talk about how people started to humanize these individuals who suffered so poorly.
Second “Turning Point”:
Discuss how with the turn of the century people became much more empathetic towards mental health, just because it was seen as socially correct. Then COVID-19 hits, and mental illness rates increase heavily. Talk about people reaching out for help, and seeking proper attention. Being online only made it worse for some. The community for helping those with mental illness expanded greatly during this time.
Present view on Mental Health:
Glamorized by forms of media. Why do we want mental health issues? Why do people romanticize it, and what does that make our society into? Bring up examples from modern shows, as well as more private and secluded parts of social media that feed into this “craze.”
Conclusion:
Talk about cycles, and how history is full of them. Leave audiences with a question about tradition, and how our world is constantly changing. Bring up desensitization, and how this may have a lot to do with a majority of issues going on in the world.