The Mental Hospital trope: How Hollywood discouraged multiple generations from getting help

When someone says "mental hospital" places like this generally come to mind. The entertainment industry loves the "insane asylum super crazy person" narrative, and while it may seem like a harmless movie trope, this has scared many people out of receiving the care they need.

Movies like BedLam, Don Juan Demarco, Session 9, and The Snakepit all featured post-apocalyptic looking psychiatric facilities, and Gen X and Millennials grew up watching these films, and this heavily influenced the way they viewed psychiatric facilities and getting help with their mental health. The problem with this is that these generations instilled this fear and distrust into their children, spreading this dangerous mentality across generations. It isn't uncommon for me to hear children my age make jokes about these places without the knowledge of what they're truly like or what their purpose is.

There are so many people who could heavily benefit from visiting these hospitals for a few days, but Hollywood has fear-mongered so many people, including me that the likelihood of someone who needs to be there going to one on their own will is low. People are generally brought to these hospitals against their will, but that wouldn't be the case if as a society we dismantled the stigmas surrounding mental health in general.

I knew that I was struggling with my mental health, but I was afraid to speak up, for fear of judgment. We live in a capitalistic society where time has been monetized and everyone is expected to work all the time. I was afraid that people would see me as different or weak if I asked for help. I worried about falling behind on work if I asked for a break due to my deteriorating mental health. Classmates of mine would take about how overwhelmed and stress they were, yet they felt powerless and subservient.

I have friends who take "mental health days" where they take a day off from work or school and practice self-care. The first time I heard of such a thing I laughed. I couldn't fathom taking a break from important things for a facemask, movie, and pressed juice. But as I look back on that moment I laugh but for different reasons. The feeling that your mental health comes secondary to your responsibilities had been so deeply embedded in my mind that I judged those who understood the value of their mental health.

As a society, we tend to wait until the last possible moment to seek help. We wait until someone is suicidal. We wait until someone overdoses. We wait until someone relapses.

Because we're "too busy". Or it "isn't that bad". This isn't true. Society must normalize asking for a break as soon as you need one. Or even better, people shouldn't need to ask for a. break. Corporations are run by humans with real emotions, relationships, and problems, and yet they're run like factories where each staff member is a robot. This must be changed.

While you may not be able to stage a complete corporate reform, you can take a few days off. Go for a walk. Call a friend. Take a bubble bath. Do what makes you happy. You deserve it.

Don't wait until the last minute to get help, you owe it to yourself.

Take care of yourselves... literally

As always,

stay funky, spunky, spicy and hydrated™

-Elliott⭐️