Media Representation of Mental Health

Media plays an important role and has a strong influence on the lives of people. Newspapers, Radio, Television, Movies, Internet etc are some of the types of media.

However, one thing that is not realised the negative effects that media, especially internet and television shows and movies.

Ways in which social media affect mental health include:

· Addiction: People who are addicted to social media may experience issues like eye strain, social withdrawal and insomnia.

· Stress: Depending on the kind of content that people access on the internet, people may experience stress.

· Information: Although a large amount of health-related information can be found on the internet, taking random advices without proper research could be harmful.

Certain Bollywood movies have also attempted to depict mental illnesses. These films often receive criticism for their content. Some of these films include:

· Hasse Toh Phaase: Deals with the topic of anxiety and depression

· Anjaana Anjaani: Deals with depression and suicidal tendencies

· Karthik calling Karthik: portrays Schizophrenia

· Barfi: attempts to tackle autism

· Black: portrayal of Alzheimers

· Bhool Bhuliya: Tackled the idea of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) as a horror comedy

· Dear Zindagi: deals with depression and anxiety and the process of acceptance and seeking help.