Let’s Talk: Mental Illness

Bipolar disorder, according to Web MD, is a mental illness that brings severe high and low moods and changes in sleep, energy, thinking, and behavior. Throughout time, people with mental illness have been separated from society and denied medications to truly help them in everyday life. As seen in the Salem Witch Trials, many people did not understand human anatomy and psyche and decided to get rid of what they did not understand.

With the sudden movement towards self-awareness and education, modern society has defended and shown support for those with mental illness. That is until Kanye West’s meeting with President Trump on October 11, 2018. For the past three years, Kanye West has been battling to look acceptable in America’s changing society, only to self-medicate with his music.

In recent weeks, Kanye West has openly admitted to no longer taking his medication, something that has caught the eye of the social media age. Instead of supporting him, many social media users have decided to make fun of and promote his illness. During his live filmed  meeting with President Trump, Kanye was seen agitated and began to speak very radically, yet no one made the executive decision to stop recording the interaction.

The conversation between Kanye and President Trump is a prime example of how far we have come as a self-aware nation, yet how much further we need to go in order to educate and no longer manipulate ourselves. As a nation, we cannot save everyone, but it should be our civil duty to be aware enough of ourselves.