I thought this article in Vox touched on the pretty grim reality of how we talk about celebrities’ mental health:
“Beyond the discussion of mental health, there’s a larger question of why we love to turn celebrities’ darkest moments into entertainment. It’s possible that writing off these public “meltdowns” as the byproduct of mental illness allows us to feel superior to the people who seem to have it all, that dismissing the powerful and wealthy as “crazy” helps us feel more secure in our own lives.
But that kind of attitude comes at a cost to our empathy — and our understanding of mental health in general.”
Particularly the part about how celebrities’ struggles with their mental health are treated as entertainment. Something that people make fun of. And also, “when they turn self-destructive, they’re chided for not taking better care of themselves.“
The article focuses on specific diagnosable conditions like OCD and borderline personality disorder that tend to manifest in more overt and disruptive behavioural symptoms. But mental health is just a fundamental aspect of human life, just like physical health.
For example, chronic sleep deprivation leads to a deterioration in mental health. As does chronic loneliness, traumatic experience, emotional abuse, and any number of other factors that commonly occur. Any person’s mental health can get better or worse, regardless of whether they have a diagnosable condition or whether their is any obvious impairment of function.
The Vox article made me think about Elon. For example, this Bloomberg opinion column that made fun of him for struggling with his mental health. And of course Twitter, where everyone shares their first, worst thought in knee-jerk fashion.
Even among vocal Tesla fans, the reaction has largely fallen under “chided for not taking better care of themselves.” I don’t think these fans understand or empathize with the position of someone who is struggling with their mental health. The reaction feels judgey and condescending and simplistic. It doesn’t feel like it comes from a realistic understanding of what struggling with your mental health is like.
The way that Elon is being treated (and the same goes for other celebrities) feels to me like an almost unanimous chorus of public bullying. It’s brutal. It’s cruel. It’s really horrible.
The best introductory media on the topic of mental health that I’m aware of is this pair of TED Talks by University of Houston research professor Brené Brown:
Please share any good introductory videos, articles, podcasts, etc. you know of. I think the solution is education. As the Vox article says, a lot of people’s understanding of mental health is based on myth, stereotype, and cultural tropes.
Most people don’t want to actually do harm. Most people bully around the topic of mental health (and other topics) because they don’t know that they’re bullying, or because they think bullying helps. I think if people understand more about what the considerable amount of research and clinical experience says about mental health, they will understand that this behaviour is harmful and attempt to change.
“Beyond the discussion of mental health, there’s a larger question of why we love to turn celebrities’ darkest moments into entertainment. It’s possible that writing off these public “meltdowns” as the byproduct of mental illness allows us to feel superior to the people who seem to have it all, that dismissing the powerful and wealthy as “crazy” helps us feel more secure in our own lives.
But that kind of attitude comes at a cost to our empathy — and our understanding of mental health in general.”
Particularly the part about how celebrities’ struggles with their mental health are treated as entertainment. Something that people make fun of. And also, “when they turn self-destructive, they’re chided for not taking better care of themselves.“
The article focuses on specific diagnosable conditions like OCD and borderline personality disorder that tend to manifest in more overt and disruptive behavioural symptoms. But mental health is just a fundamental aspect of human life, just like physical health.
For example, chronic sleep deprivation leads to a deterioration in mental health. As does chronic loneliness, traumatic experience, emotional abuse, and any number of other factors that commonly occur. Any person’s mental health can get better or worse, regardless of whether they have a diagnosable condition or whether their is any obvious impairment of function.
The Vox article made me think about Elon. For example, this Bloomberg opinion column that made fun of him for struggling with his mental health. And of course Twitter, where everyone shares their first, worst thought in knee-jerk fashion.
Even among vocal Tesla fans, the reaction has largely fallen under “chided for not taking better care of themselves.” I don’t think these fans understand or empathize with the position of someone who is struggling with their mental health. The reaction feels judgey and condescending and simplistic. It doesn’t feel like it comes from a realistic understanding of what struggling with your mental health is like.
The way that Elon is being treated (and the same goes for other celebrities) feels to me like an almost unanimous chorus of public bullying. It’s brutal. It’s cruel. It’s really horrible.
The best introductory media on the topic of mental health that I’m aware of is this pair of TED Talks by University of Houston research professor Brené Brown:
Please share any good introductory videos, articles, podcasts, etc. you know of. I think the solution is education. As the Vox article says, a lot of people’s understanding of mental health is based on myth, stereotype, and cultural tropes.
Most people don’t want to actually do harm. Most people bully around the topic of mental health (and other topics) because they don’t know that they’re bullying, or because they think bullying helps. I think if people understand more about what the considerable amount of research and clinical experience says about mental health, they will understand that this behaviour is harmful and attempt to change.
