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Destiny Scarbrough
Lynn Criswell
English 111
15 October 2017
“The Making of a Monster”
Mental illness is a part of every person’s life, whether it is themselves, a family member,
or a coworker. Although mental illness has become more talked about in society, it still carries a
dark stigma that creates fear and breeds aggression in the general population towards the
mentally ill. Lack of understanding and the constant focus of mass/ social media continue to
hinder society from gaining a true understanding of what mental illness is and how it affects each
person differently. The daily portrayal of those with some form of mental illness in the media
only fuels the fear of the mentally ill. Insinuating that having a mental health issue makes you
likely to hurt others (school/mass shooters) or harm yourself(teen/celebrity suicide) is revisited
almost every day in the media. While the attention does bring light to mental issues it is almost
always negative light.
Environmental and hereditary factors are that leading cause of mental illness. Most
hereditary factors are triggered by family, work, or social stress causing malfunctions in
neurotransmitters thus mental illness appears. The diagnosis of mental health issues has made a
dramatic drop over the past decade. What was once the general age of diagnosis, 29-30 years of
age, has now become 14-15 years of age. Without placing blame, the DSM-V has broadened its
categories, making it easier for people to qualify for certain illnesses. Pharmaceuticals may be of
some interest here as well since they can only curb behavior short term and then the symptoms
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return threefold latter. It is often the case that poor parenting or antisocial behavior is blamed for
mental illness as well when neither cause mental illness but can contribute.
Mental illness affects almost fifty percent of people at some point in life. Most
experience moderate to severe episodes. Mental illness can be diagnosed as early as five years of
age using diagnostic and statistical manual of mental diagnostic known as DSM. The original
version was created in 1952 and only had 106 disorders. The current DSM Ⅴ has over 365
disorders, making it easier to fit into categories. Out of the many that experience symptoms of
mental illness only twenty percent seek treatment for their symptoms in a clinical setting.
Mental illness cannot always be discerned. TV/ film portrays mentally ill as violent,
criminal, even physical deformed reinforcing the negative stereotype of the mentally ill. The
