It’s simply the urge to want to be like others, to be social instead of avoiding others, to be able to handle emotions without breaking down, to just fit in. Twenty-four hours of the day feeling on the edge, taking emotions out on others, smiling on the outside, but screaming of continuous pain on the inside. It’s mental illness, the imbalance of chemicals in a person’s brain. The different chemicals that are associated with mental illness are acetylcholine: too much causes depression; dopamine: too much causes schizophrenia; serotonin: depression and often anxiety disorders; gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA): too little causes anxiety; norepinephrine: too much causes schizophrenia, too little depression; adrenaline: causes anxiety disorders. It’s difficult to understand how a person is feeling internally, if it isn’t expressed externally. This paper will authentically show the effect mental illness has on an individual, mental illness medications, causes and factors of mental illness, self-harm and harm to others, relevance in society, the golden gate movement, and social changes. Mental illness has become pertinent in today’s society, although there are still people who believe mental illness is just an act. 

If you are sitting at home or even at school, you’ll see many people on their phones, iPads, computers or other technological devices. The issues caused by too much use of technology can be explained in an article titled What might explain the unhappiness epidemic? by Jeane Twenge. The author is a professor of psychology at San Diego State University and also an author of several books. Twenge did a study to examine the relationship between screen time and how it affects unhappiness and depression. Throughout the examination she noticed that people who spend countless hours on their technological device seem to be unhappier than those who are more social.  Another enormous thing that stuck out about teenagers to Twenge was that “…unhappiness among teens began to increase in 2012, which is the first year in which the majority of Americans owned a smartphone” (Twenge 1). People who are on their technological devices too long prove to be are more antisocial, depressed, and also anxious. Those who are involved in sports, clubs, going to the gym, hanging out with friends or other social activities seem to be happier, healthier, and have a better outlook on life. 2012 was the year that specifically struck the generation iGen, meaning you were born during the time 1995 through 2012. This was the year that the majority of Americans owned their first smartphones, such as iPhones, Androids, BlackBerries and many more other phones that first came out. Statistical factors from this article express “Time spent online doubled between 2006 and 2016, and 82 percent of 12th-graders now use social media every day (up from 51 percent in 2008)” (Twenge 1). As is seen, technology takes a huge toll on mental health, unhappiness, and depression. Unhappiness and mental illnesses can also lead some to violence, mentally, emotionally, or physically. 

December 14, 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut, twenty-six people were brutally shot including the shooter who shot himself right after. Days following the mass shooting, it became known that the shooter, Adam Lanza, had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. New York governor Andrew Cuomo states, “People who have mental health issues should not have guns” and that in the long run, “They could hurt themselves, they could hurt other people” (Metzl and MacLeish 2). Although, some people do believe that addressing mental illness in mass shooters will not necessarily help the situation. On a Friday afternoon in October 2014, there was yet another mass shooting caused by one of the school’s students named Jaylen Fryberg. Jaylen, “opened fire on his classmates, killing one student and wounding four others, three of whom later died from their injuries. Then he killed himself” (Konnikova 1). He was considered a good kid, volunteered in the community, played sports, and was popular, but within a week his social media was being looked over heavily. Jaylen, was now know as a depressed sociopath. Jeffery Swanson a medical sociologist at Duke University decided to look upon the link between mental illness and violence. Many polls and surveys were taken and “Eighty percent of the population believes that mental illness is at least partially to blame for such incidents“ (Konnikova 1). Fryberg lived an amazing life and was not a depressed sociopath as people thought he was; he also was never diagnosed with a mental illness. It is verifiable that all mass shooters don’t have mental illness, but those who do have an underlying mental illness, seem to cause the largest percentage of mass shootings. Mass shooters who do have a mental illness sometimes don’t get treated because of their personal choice, and the question still remains whether involuntary treatment is beneficial. 

A topic that sticks out for parents as a sore spot for their children is whether they should have their child involuntarily. John Casada is an associate professor and psychiatrist at Abilene Christian University in Texas states, “There is little I dislike more than having to involuntarily hospitalize a patient. I use it literally as the last resort” (Casada 1). This shows that even a psychiatrist who studies and knows everything about mental illness dislikes admitting a patient into a mental institution. As a psychiatrist, Casada feels as if this is his job, especially when someone is “…determined to kill himself or one who is psychotic and behaving in ways that are likely to lead to imminent self-harm or harm to others, I cannot in good conscience simply let them go” (Casada 1). To imagine what a parent of a mentally ill child feels like when their child threatens to self harm and/or kill themselves has to be a terrifying and indescribable feeling. On the opposite side of this, some people believe involuntary treatment is not necessary. Jennifer Friedenbach the author of this article vocalizes that “it traumatizes someone suffering from a health condition by putting him or her into the hands of our criminal justice system and removes fundamental rights to voice in health care decisions“ (Friedenbach 1). However, someone who is mentally ill may not be in the right mindset to make a healthcare decision. Mental illness is inevitable and there is no way to solve it, but there are coping mechanisms, such as: listening to music, setting up therapist sessions, exercising, deep breathing, yoga, and meditation. Being put in a mental institution or hospital may be scary at first, but in the end, rarely are lives lost and no self harm is done or tolerated any longer. Lastly, being hospitalized voluntarily or involuntarily is the smartest route to take, as well as following up with therapy sessions; it may not be easy, but it will be worth it. 

It’s time to stand up against the stigma of people believing mental illness is not real. Mental illness IS real, and people don’t understand unless they themselves are in the position of being depressed, feeling lonely, feeling on the edge, and being emotionally unstable. Simple steps into action are simply showing awareness to mental illness and also donating to non-profit organizations that assist those who are mentally ill. A huge call to action for those with mental illness who attend schools is participating in mental screenings of students to check for depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, and many other mental disorders. At this point in our current society, these screenings would help a lot of students with a mental illness find help without having to reach out on their own. Mental illness should not be taken as a joke; it should be taken just as seriously as any other illness. 

Works Cited 

Casada, John. "Involuntary Commitment Is Sometimes Necessary." Mental Illness, edited by Noah Berlatsky, Greenhaven Press, 2016. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, 6 July 2011.

Friedenbach, Jennifer. "Involuntary Treatment for the Mentally Ill Is Dangerous and Harmful." Mental Illness, edited by Noah Berlatsky, Greenhaven Press, 2016. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Accessed 5 Feb. 2019. Originally published as "'Laura's Law' a Looming Disaster for Mentally Ill," San Francisco Examiner, 8 June 2014.

Healy, Melissa. "Better Mental Health Care Can Reduce Violence." Mental Illness, edited by Noah Berlatsky, Greenhaven Press, 2016. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Accessed 5 Feb. 2019. Originally published as "Medications May Reduce Violent Crime Risk in Those with Mental Illness," Latimes, 7 May 2014.

Konnikova, Maria. "Addressing Mental Illness Is Not a Good Way to Prevent School Shootings." School Safety, edited by Noah Berlatsky, Greenhaven Press, 2016. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. 4. Accessed 5 Feb. 2019. Originally published as "Is There a Link Between Mental Health and Gun Violence?" New Yorker, 19 Nov. 2014.

Metzl, Jonathan M and Kenneth T MacLeish. “Mental illness, mass shootings, and the politics of American firearms” American journal of public health vol. 105,2 (2015): 240-9.

Twenge, Jean. "What might explain the unhappiness epidemic?" Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection, Gale, 2019. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Accessed 5 Feb. 2019. Originally published as "What might explain the unhappiness epidemic?" The Conversation, 22 Jan. 2018.