Movies for Mental Health

Wheaton College

Monday, March 7, 2016

@artwithimpact

#Movies4MentalHealth

Here’s the Plan

I. Quick introduction

II. Set the stage together

III. Watch short films & discuss them

IV. Make it personal with our panel

Brought to you by

• Monthly short film competition

• Campus workshops

• Global community (blog, IG, Twitter, FB)

Head’s Up!

Mental health is personal

This is a public space…

Films may be triggering.

Some movies that show mental illness:

Girl, Interrupted

Silver Linings Playbook

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

Rainman

A Beautiful Mind

What About Bob

Lars and The Real Girl

Characters with mental illness are portrayed as:

Different

Victim

Isolated

Brilliant

Really special or really problematic

What is mental illness?

Chemical imbalance

Abnormal behavior or cognitive functioning

Response to immediate environment (how

someone reacts to their surroundings)

Something that causes distress or

impairment in ability to function

Mental health vs. mental illness?

Self-care

Resilience

Having balance

Sense of stability

Maintaining mental functioning

Solid networks of support

Adaptability

Coping skills

Asking for support

Sense of wellbeing

Anosognosia

By Leesa Kim

AWI Winner, 2016

What is stigma?

The preconceived – negative – notions we

have something or someone

Negative assumptions we have about issues

Labels that people carry

How does stigma feel?

Frustrating

Feeling judged

Defeated

Degraded

Trapping / trapped

Disappointment

Alienated

Three

By Karen Hua

AWI Winner, 2015

In groups of three

• What did you think?

• What did you feel?

What did you think? What did you feel?

ThoughtsEating disorder in a male – not often

talked about

Variation between the 3 allows you to

interpret it in your own way; liked how

they came together at the end

Important that they all came together

at the end – solidarity to address the

sense of alone-ness

All wanted to have things be perfect

and orderly – causes stress

People you interact w/ might be

grappling with things that aren’t

apparent

These obstacles affect every aspect

of their lives – it’s pervasive

FeelingsRelated to the girl with OCD; self-

blame and guilt

Related to the man filling out the test

Compassion

Sympathy

Stress (did a good job of making

audience feel the way the characters

did)

Anxious (because of the music)

Knot in the stomach that expands and

then bursts (as the intensity builds)

Solidarity

Not Just a Phase

By Lisa Toppari

AWI Winner, 2016

In groups of three

• What did you think?

• What did you feel?

• What have you learned?

What did you think… feel… learn?

ThoughtsHow do you help people? Esp.

when you’re trying to help them

and they need to see a

professional?

On a bad day, that interview

wouldn’t have been able to

happen

Accurate representation of

depression

Very illuminating when she said

that it was like a demon on your

back – makes it understandable

to anyone

Even if you don’t fully

understand, important to do

your best to provide any kind of

support you can.

FeelingsRelated to every word she was

saying; was able to feel

whatever she was feeling

Shocked when she said she’d

been depressed since the age

of 12

Frustrating – devastating and

debilitating for the person who

suffers from the disease, and

hard for anyone around them –

everyone struggles with it.

Really resonated when she said

it’s not a choice – when people

say “chin up”, etc. makes your

day harder.

New InsightsInteresting to learn that

some people who are

depressed are talkative /

outgoing

Rinse and Repeat

By Daniel Richardson

AWI Winner, 2013

In groups of three

• What did you think?

• What did you feel?

• What have you learned?

• What will you do?

What did you think… feel… learn?

ThoughtsInteresting how self-

aware he is – he’s

objectively aware of

the issue … but

disconnect w/ the

behavior.

Vicious, never-ending

cycle

Interesting that he talked

about his fear, which

is not normally talked

about

The film itself gave it the

cyclical feeling;

everything helped the

portrayal

InsightsFeelingsMore stimulating, maybe

b/c he was so close to

the camera; could feel

what he was feeling

Anxious (for him)

Annoyed (wanted him to

stop)

Wanted him to stop for his

sake and our sake

Relieved, less anxious –

nice to hear people talk

about OCD when you

have it

Felt scared for him

What can I do?

Meet the Panel

• Morgan Wilbur - student speaker

• Matt Dickey - student speaker

• Melissa Rideout, Wheaton Psychologist

• Tobi Bloomwald, Wheaton LICSW

• Bridget Roberts, LMHC

• Michelle Smith, LICSW, Service Authorization

Specialist

Thank you for coming!

• Contact us:

– info@artwithimpact.org

– Follow us!

– Submit a film!

http://www.artwithimpact.org/contest