The Bell Jar Mental Institution

722 Words3 Pages
Question: How has reading this text influenced or reinforced your views on the mentally ill and mental institutions? Prior to reading The Bell Jar the subject of mental illness and mental institutions had not had an influence in my day to day life or in fact at all. As The Bell Jar progresses It eases the reader further into issues surrounding mental illness and mental institutions, prior to reading the text these issues were irrelevant to me. This progression into these issues becomes more and more evident, as it affects many aspects of life for the people involved (whether it be the mentally ill or the family of the mentally ill). The Bell Jar has influenced and reinforced my views on the mentally ill and mental institutions. It has influenced…show more content…
The treatment, which is usually not recognised by the general public, can have a huge effect on the patient. Treatment of the mentally ill described in the text of The Bell Jar at that point was seemingly cruel and inhumane, at some points almost leading patients to commit suicide. One example from The Bell Jar shows Esther Greenwood (portrayed as Sylvia Plath) undergoing a particularly cruel form of treatment, this shock treatment was a stressing and painful method of “curing” the mentally ill, Esther describes the experience, “and with each shrill flash a great jolt drubbed me till I thought my bones would break and the sap fly out of me like a split plant”. Treatment methods over time have definitely become more humane (opinions may vary) and seem to be instigated with the patients wellbeing considered by those administering the treatment (or those authorising…show more content…
Mental illness may lead to families becoming withdrawn and having problems dealing with the illness of the loved one, sometimes families are no longer committed to taking risks participating in the mentally ill family member’s life, as they are scared of being hurt even more. All this can have a devastating effect on a family, it could result in the family members trying to help the mentally ill person in ways that couldn’t possibly work (may differ between people). The family may try to move to a different area, in an effort to get a fresh start, which could be worse for the person, in the sense that what is normal and secure is going to be gone and that they would become more insecure. Obviously people are different and families have different ways of dealing with illness, so results between people may vary, but evidently someone without a mentally ill family member could not begin to realise the struggle some people go through in dealing with illness within a family and how much respect should be shown to those who do have to deal with mental
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