Research Log #8 - Solutionary Project 2022

Date: March 24, 2023

Name: Kyana Gaviola
Essential Question: How is mental health significant to the impact it has on people’s daily lives?

Three Points to Prove: #1: Mental health can lead to harmful behaviors.
#2: Mental health affects people’s physical health.
#3: Adolescents experience more mental health problems than any other age groups.

Point that this Source Proves: #2 Mental health affects people’s physical health

Excerpts (These should provide insight into the Point to Prove)

According to a Ted Talk about Breaking the Stigma and Shame of Mental Illness, “stigma is a deterrent to
seeking treatment and untreated mental illness robs people of the vary things that define quality of life”
(Westin, 2017).
“3 out of 4 people that struggle with mental illness report feelings stigmatized” (Westin, 2017).

Suicide has the highest mortality rate of any mental illness (Westin, 2017).

Analysis (How does this source support the Point to Prove?):

Mental health does not discriminate. It affects people of all races, gender, sex, religion, social status, etc.
Mental illness is not subject to one condition, as it includes eating disorders, suicide, depression, anxiety, addiction,
stress, and many others. Mental illness is a real issue that isn’t talked about enough but should be addressed more
frequently. This is a significant problem, because people who do not experience mental health problems do not
understand the severity of it. People are often uneducated about the situation but pretend to know more than they
actually do. Something Kitty emphasized in the TED Talk, is that mental health should be addressed and talked about
constantly.
To bring more awareness to the situation, the funding needs to be improved. Currently, there is a lack of
money to support this cause. To understand the causes and effects of mental health requires a lot of research.
Unfortunately, without the necessary resources and funds, there’s not much that can be done to inform the public on a
critical issue like mental health. Once organizations like the National Institute of Health obtain adequate money, they
can use that for research to better promote and educate the public about mental illnesses. With more funding, it will
allow for more study into mental illness in hopes of discovering treatments, detect early cases, and identify high-risk
behaviors.
Mental health is not something that should be belittled as it can have an extremely negative impact on an
individual’s overall well-being. More people need to educate themselves on the topic and become acquainted with it, so
that it is more normalized throughout the world. There is such a huge misconception behind mental illness which is a
reason why “stigma is a deterrent to seeking treatment” (Westin, 2017). According to Kitty, “untreated mental illness
robs people of the very things that define quality of life” (Westin, 2017). In the TED Talk, Westin explains that how
people communicate can play a huge role in how others think of themselves. Words have meaning and can have a
powerful impact on an individual’s perception of themselves. When people with mental illnesses are called offensive
names such as psycho, crazy, freak, maniac, and nutcase, it makes them think differently of themselves. This is a direct
result of brain alteration. What this means is that how a person’s brain operates is sufficiently correlated to the
development of brain illness. Westin explains that there are many mental and physical health conditions caused by the
brain, simply by people’s brain chemistry. That's why hurtful words towards people with depression, anxiety, an eating
disorder, or schizophrenia can dramatically affect their emotions, causing them to spiral. There are many factors that
come into play when mental illnesses are developed, but to lessen the severity of these disorders, we need to advocate
so that it is more familiarized and normalized.

Work Cited (correct MLA format):

Westin, Kitty. “Breaking the Stigma and Shame of Mental Illness.” Kitty Westin: Breaking the Stigma
and Shame of Mental Illness | TED Talk, 2017,
https://www.ted.com/talks/kitty_westin_breaking_the_stigma_and_shame_of_mental_illness?
utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare.
This is a reputable and reliable article because it was published by TED, a platform that spreads ideas
that spark imagination, embrace possibility and catalyze impact that will foster the community. The TED
organization promotes inclusivity for people seeking a deeper understanding of the world and connection
with others. TED gives people the opportunity to share and express their own ideas and knowledge with
all of the world.