From vivid cinematic images of day-to-day life in a mental health institution in films such as One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Girl Interrupted, to psychological films that portray the most distressing aspects of mental illness, such as Jacob’s Ladder, Psycho and Fight Club, the film world has been using the unknown workings of the human mind to create fear and drama for as long as there has been cinema. It is what characterises and boosts the film industry.
For a lot of us, the only experience we have with mental illness is what we see on TV and in film, yet there is still a lot of misinformation surrounding mental illness and filmmakers use tired old tropes when portraying characters with any mental illness. The portrayal of mental illness in movies has usually focused on the murderous maniac, eccentric villain or desperate victim trapped in their own mind. So it’s no wonder that most of us are not as knowledgeable as perhaps we should be when it comes to mental health and illness.
For the past few months, I’ve had a chance to witness the work of a team of nurses and social workers who have shown me what real compassion, patience and care are all about when it comes to mental health. Their job is to give an extra bit of help to people who are struggling with mental health problems. On a daily basis, they deal with all sorts of issues that few of us can imagine — they ensure people are getting and taking their medication and simply talking to people who need a sympathetic ear and letting them know that they care and that there are services available to them. I’ve been watching them for months and learning to rebuild some of the patience that was stripped from me during my time outside Northern Ireland.
Patience is what makes a good nurse, social worker or human being, a great one. It is an underrated characteristic that can mean the difference between life and death in extreme circumstances, but brings day-to-day comfort and understanding to those who need it the most.
This is the kind of experience surrounding mental illness that is not usually brought to cinema screens. However, there are some films that have tried to be loyal to the plight of real human beings who have suffered from mental illness.
For me, A Beautiful Mind was one of the most realistic and uplifting films that depicted mental illness, based on the life of Nobel winner John Nash and his struggle with schizophrenia. It showed that the terrifying word ‘schizophrenia’ did not have to mean the end of one’s life and that a person could even be a genius and still have problems with his or her mind.
It’s difficult to comprehend the challenges people with mental illness encounter and what is it actually like to see hallucinations and hear things that may or may not be real. If it wasn’t for health professionals, such as those I have seen in Northern Ireland, there would be so much more misery in the world.
There should be a film about them; the unsung heroes on the frontline of the health services, underpaid, under-resourced and underappreciated among their peers; bringing their best every day; dealing with endless crises, breakdowns, tears and fears, but also enabling the moments of triumph, the milestones and the breakthroughs. I guess for them, this is what makes it all worthwhile.
Christina Curran is freelance journalist based in Northern Ireland.
