This week Channel 4 goes mad. Tonight is the beginning of a series of documentories; composed and compiled together by celebrities (Ruby Wax and Jon
Richardson to name a few), volunteers, and mental health organisations
(like Mind, Rethink and Time To Change). They will come onto our tellyboxes and explore all things mental health: from issues surrounding them to different mental illnesses. In my opinion I'm excited and I can't wait to watch it all.
However, there's something that keeps on turning over and over in my mind. I can't help but think why we should rely (if 'rely' is the right word) on television programmes to teach us about mental health. The media plays a large part in the portrayal and education of mental health: from documentories to soap operas running storylines on their characters and their experiences. As much as they strive to raise awareness and reduce stigma sometimes these portrayals aren't always accurate and can present a varying amount of bias, and so can misinform us about things within mental health. These misunderstandings can potentially be harmful to us and others around us. Although, it is not to say that all we learn about mental health comes from the television. There are numerous organisations that provide us with facts, figures and first-hand experiences and these help us to better our understanding on mental health. The only criticism of these I can give is that they're not always accessible or available to everyone. I think education into mental health should be made more accessible, and more so available on the national curriculum.
Throughout my time at school we have been given lessons called 'Directions', aka Citizenship or PSHE classes, within these lessons we are taught subjects that are outside the standard curriculum, of which include sex education, the environment, diversity, drugs and substance abuse etc. however, not once have I recalled being delivered information/education on mental health, apart from within Psychology lessons (but that's a different kettle of fish). The point I'm trying to make here is that perhaps not enough is done to teach people about mental health, and that this lack of knowledge or understanding can lead to terrible consequences to those who experience a mental illness (whether it'd be directly or indirectly), e.g. bullying (not just within schools but also in the workplace), self-destruction, and even death. For something that affects all of us it should make sense to provide education on it, preferably from a relatively early age, so that we can develop our understanding and knowledge of mental health and improve the quality of life for us and others.
It's a goal of mine to see mental health being taught in schools, and as part of the national curriculum. However, I cannot do this alone. I hope this to be the start of this campaign, and I would love to hear of your opinions or experiences - so feel free to comment below.
Thank you.
BMNM.
It's a goal of mine to see mental health being taught in schools, and as part of the national curriculum. However, I cannot do this alone. I hope this to be the start of this campaign, and I would love to hear of your opinions or experiences - so feel free to comment below.
Thank you.
BMNM.
