Recently, 28 year-old Amanda Bynes was hospitalized in an involuntary psychiatric care unit by her family. Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time she has been evaluated for mental health issues due to her erratic behavior. However, as a result of her fame, Bynes and her family are having to deal with her mental health crisis while under public scrutiny.
Bynes is a former Hollywood actress who starred in movies such as What A Girl Wants and Easy A. When she retired from acting in her early 2o’s while still being very popular, it outwardly appeared as a child star wanting break from the Hollywood life. In hindsight, there were probably a lot of signs of an emerging issue, but was there anyone paying attention to a possible manifesting mental health issue?
This past August, the world lost the most famous teacher from the movie Dead Poets Society, Robin Williams, who tragically died by suicide. Words of empathy and sadness went viral all over the internet within seconds after the news came out. Testimonials by both everyday citizens and famous people shared how he impacted so many lives as well as their childhoods with his very special talents.
For a lot of people, Amanda is just another child star gone wrong, or they find her situation as one of the funniest and entertaining celebrity incidents of the past months. Others may think, Amanda Bynes is just plain crazy and should not be walking freely in streets. The actress has become notorious for her tweet feed which first alerted the public of emerging strange behavior. Gossip blogs having begun creating articles based off of her rants on twitter.
According to the World Health Organization, mental health is defined, “as a state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community.”
Mental health is a topic that each and every one of us should be raising awareness about. None of us are free from potentially falling into that downfall, and it isn’t about being strong or being weak nor is it about being courageous or a quitter. It is simply about being a human being acknowledging our vulnerabilities either in our life experiences or in our genetics that can predispose us to develop a mental disorder. I strongly believe that we should feel as empathy for Amanda Bynes as we would have for Robin Williams.
In both cases, we are talking about mental health issues that have gone untreated. The only difference is that for one, it is already too late to do something and get the proper help needed. However, we can raise awareness to help remove stigmas in effort to promote those who need treatment to seek it. I hope in Bynes’ case, she will get the proper help and support from her family and the professionals that are currently taking care of her.
Being hospitalized in a psychiatric care unit is no joke, and it shouldn’t be laughed at or turned into ridicule. It’s time we as a society start to treat mental disorders as seriously as we do for physical illnesses. Both are real and cause distress, it has nothing to do with making up excuses or simply having to toughen up in order to get better. Mental disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety and eating disorders affect millions of Americans on a daily basis, and globally mental illness will touch one out of four people in their life-times.
Many people will not seek the help they need because of the stigma attached to these illnesses and the fear of being judged by their community. It seems like it’s easier to seek help for a broken hip, then it is taking care of your mental health. Imagine how complicated mental health care and treatment becomes when there are multiple cases in a same household. It is now time to act and raise awareness on this topic.
If you or someone you know need help, I invite you to call this toll-free 24/7 number (Suicide Prevention Lifeline) at 1-800-273-TALK.
Have you or someone you know experienced a mental illness ? What do you feel should be done in order to lower down these horrible statistics ? What is your definition of good mental health and how should we achieve that?
How is she?
one word….”conservator”.!!!!!
The two most important message to take from this article are that one, people who struggle with mental health are not crazy, and two, we need to do more to bring awareness to this issue. People stereotype against those with mental health issues and turn these issues into a joke or believe they are not an actual problem, but people who struggle with mental illness know it is a problem and it causes problems and distress for the individual and those around them. Although mental health awareness month isn’t until May, we can still spread the word in the meantime. Write positive posts on social media, plan events within your community, do whatever you can to break the stereotype that mental health is associated with. We here at Miami University are hosting a 5k tomorrow, November 5th at 8:30pm in Oxford, Ohio. Come support the cause!
Really interesting article! Thank you for the information!
As a francophone from Quebec, Canada, thanks for making me aware of the misuse of the term committed. I did not know about that in all honesty. (I am the author of the article). In French, I do use the term “completed suicide” for the specific reasons you have mentioned and because of the negative connotation that can be related to other terms. So I defijnetly understand the nuance you are trying to make here.
The term “committed suicide” has long been used but survivors of suicide & advocates for suicide awareness feel that this term demonizes/criminalizes the act. There should be movement towards language that aligns with the idea that individuals who die of suicide have succumbed to their mental illness, no different than someone who has died of another fatal illness. By changing the language we use we can support a change in awareness about suicide. Some suggestions are “he/she took their life”, “died of suicide”, “completed suicide”.
this explains why “commit” is not a good word to use
http://www.psychology.org.au/Content.aspx?ID=5048
‘Completed suicide’
I have empathy for Bynes and hate how ppl make fun of those who suffer
What is the term you would have liked to see used?
This Article Is So Poorly Written I Had To Stop Reading.
What is the better way to say it?
disappointing to see this article contains the phrase “committed suicide”
Society is lacking in being able to handle the mental health issues. I work as a hospital social worker and deal every day with patients that need help and a stay in a psych area that are released because there is no room. There needs to be more funding to help people with mental illness.