If any of you lovely ladies are familiar with Sylvia Plath, you know of her story and of her devotion to that which she loved.  Composition.  Writing.  The things that made her tick.  The passion she injected into her own life, and the lives of everyone she touched; the mental illness that eventually brought her to her demise.

Everything that Sylvia Plath touched, she placed her signature on.  Whether it was gently applied with the greatest of ease, or if it were slammed and branded like a side of beef, it was Sylvia all around.

Why did Sylvia go crazy?  Does one ever really “go” crazy?  Or are they just barely teetering on the edge of it throughout their entire lives?  Did something provoke her, or was it something deep-seated right from birth?

Mad men can be mad men.  There are plenty of men out there who were (and are) complete and utter psychopaths.  Charles Manson, Geoffrey Dahmer.  Christian Bale.  (Sorry; I know, low blow.  But the guy is a complete tool.) It seems in society, generally, that when men “snap”, they become murderous, raging lunatics.  They become brute, neanderthal and animalistic.  There’ve been plenty of women who have gone that route as well, in their craziness, but why is it that men are generally perceived as the “more dangerous” species when it comes to acting out the irrational notions of sociopathy?  What do we women have that make us such angsty, over-compassionate wretches, when men can be so off-the-cuff brutal?

According to an article in The Australian, nearly fifty percent of individuals suffer from a mental illness in their lives.  Another figure states that whereas eighteen percent of males will suffer a mental breakdown in their lives, twenty-two percent of women will suffer as well.  According to a survey, most men claim that any “mental illnesses” suffered by the male gender revolve  around a drug or alcohol dependency, which is a long-disputed mental illness on both sides of the issue.  Women’s primary afflictions are centered around anxiety.

Personally, from a perspective of one who has suffered anxiety attacks at a point in her life, I can say that anxiety in women is a fairly rampant disorder, one that causes more destruction than a lot of other mental illnesses that are on the market nowadays.  The most widespread mental illnesses that affect women are bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, ADD/ADHD, personality disorders, eating disorders and depression, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.

Whereas women’s mental and emotional disorders are more rampant and discussed, men seem to be a bit more reluctant to admit and treat their disorders, let alone acknowledge that they have one.  Men’s mental illness is now being called the “Silent Crisis”.  Suicide statistics are staggering; a study in Canada shows that four out of five suicide victims are male.

What does this say about the “Silent Crisis”?  What does this say about womens’ mental illnesses versus mens’ mental illnesses?

As far as I’m concerned, it’s called “repression,” and it’s probably one of the most self-destructive behaviors that one can engage in.

Women have long been considered the weaker gender; men being the dominant, undeviating gender that refuse to talk about their problems, including and especially their mental and emotional health.  Where women have banded together to create their own healing and support groups, men turn inward and attempt to deal with their issues on their own.  Women have no qualms in voicing their disparities, talking about them, acknowledging them; this is the catalyst to healing, most experts might say. I, myself, say it.  I believe it.  On the flip side, men are more apt to push away these feelings of inadequacy and allow the disease to affect them so that it begins to take a physical toll on their beings.  As these emotional ailments remain untreated,  most men’s mental health issues are often misdiagnosed, primarily due to the fact that they’re not willing to talk about their emotional needs and wants.

In the United States alone, six million men are diagnosed with depression in one year, which is only half of American womens’ diagnoses. Twelve million American women diagnosed with an emotional disorder in one year.  These numbers are staggering.

I feel, that not only is mental health a facet of our beings that often goes ignored, but it’s becoming more and more widespread and the majority of individuals go about their daily lives with their issues left untreated.

Men?  Really.  Suck it up and quit acting out your depression.  Go and get it treated.  A case study shows that men that have  emotional or mental disorders that go undiagnosed and untreated often participate in the behaviors of hostility, abuse, irritability, excess substance abuse and womanizing.  This is just toward the people that care about them!  Take a page out of a suffering woman’s book.  We’ve got this shit down.  We’ve been doing it for years.  Managing it for years.  And still remain (most times) to be just as strong.  Don’t call us the pathetic gender.

Women (and men, I can’t discriminate on this one) – I can’t speak for all of us, of course; but maybe your anxiety is somewhat triggered by a person in your life that is suffering from untreated depression or another mood disorder.

Guys (and ladies).  There is help out there.  Help, even if you feel it’s unwarranted and unwanted help at the time.  Maybe that initial discomfort and “shame” will be worth it in a few weeks, months or years.  Maybe those first initial moments of “weakness” will benefit you in the long run, or maybe benefit a potential child’s “long run”, because it’ll have the chance to be born to a healthy mother or father.  A possible husband.  A possible wife.  None of these possibilities are possible if the strength to go on just doesn’t exist.  Or if the humility to take the help and love that is being offered isn’t accepted.

Maybe if more people were willing to admit that they have a problem beyond their control (because that’s what mental illness is: a problem that is not your fault), more incidents like Sylvia Plath’s might have been avoided.

On a note of recent event, something of interest:  Sylvia Plath’s son, Nicholas Hughes, recently committed suicide over the past few weeks.  According to family, Hughes, the successful and brilliant Marine Scientist, spent an entire lifetime suffering from untreated depression.  The disease finally claimed him at the age of forty-seven.

For your own sake and for the sake of the ones that care about you – if you’ve got something  to say, say it.  If you’ve got something to get off your chest; do it.  If we begin to be a more open society, especially in the male aspect of it, less lives might be claimed by the things that sit deeply on our hearts and low inside us; the things that fester and burn.

If more people were willing to accept the discrepancies that often crop up in life, rather than suppressing them, maybe we as a people could begin to fully heal and move forward.  Self-acceptance is one of the keys to recovery.

“I took a deep breath and listened to the old bray of my heart: I am, I am, I am.” –Sylvia Plath

3 Responses to “Don’t Call Us Plath-etic”

1. Tabby says:

   April 6, 2009 at 12:17 pm

   You have no idea how much I needed this right now. Thank you, so very much.

   Reply
2. Deb says:

   April 18, 2009 at 4:52 am

   What a fantastic writer! I’m so glad your onboard this site!!!!! Your an asset to this set up!!!! Keep em comin!

   An avid follower!

   Reply
3. Alleged Murderer of New Hampshire Mother Writes a Self-Righteous Letter to the Media – Zelda Lily, Feminism in a Bra says:

   July 23, 2010 at 7:09 pm

   [...] I know I’m kind of a Pollyanna, but can anyone explain to me why the hell someone would do this kind of thing?  And I mean beyond the obvious “he’s a sociopath” response? [...]

   Reply