This is Ryan with another round of Flipswitch’s Mood Disorders In the Media. On Mood Disorders in the Media, we take a closer look at one instance of how the media is currently handling mood disorders. News, movies, tv, radio, the internets......if it’s somehow connected to the media, it’s fair game.
Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later. A show about depression and bipolar disorder and growing up..........we could only avoid it so long.
Love it or hate it, here it is. We’re finally going to deal with it.
Yes. Yes. Yes, that’s right. You know what I’m talking about.
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, .....today we talk about.......The Twilight Series.
Okay, okay! Girls, calm down, please! And if you guys over there can stop looking annoyed for just one moment, we can get through this promptly!
Look, for better or worse, the Twilight series of books and movies have been hugely successful, raking gobs and gobs of money, with more sequels planned for the future. Maybe it’s the Romeo-and-Julietness of it all or the fact that we all just simply like stories about werewolves and vampires; whatever it is, fans just can’t seem to get enough.
In the latest movie installment of the series, New Moon, the main character of the whole shebang, Bella, goes through a trying break up with a boyfriend, Edward, and is flung into the depths of heartbreak and sadness, eventually leading her to do some dangerous things in order to get him back.
Vampires and werewolves aside, it’s an interesting take on an extremely common part of life, a part of life that many people are first introduced to in high school and sometimes, even junior high. Girl meets boy, girl falls for boy, girl and boy share romance, boy changes suddenly on girl, boy leaves girl, girl becomes distraught, spending hours, days, weeks, months, etc pining for her lost love. Sure, that’s the basic thing going on in New Moon, but I was also describing three of my friend’s from high school’s lives as well. It’s just that common. Sure, in my case, it was more like: boy meets girl, girl tells boy to leave her alone, boy comes up to girl two weeks later to profess his love for girl, girl explains that she doesn’t remember boy at all, girl introduces boy to girl’s football player boyfriend, boy runs away before he gets beat up....but.....okay let’s move on.
A lot has been written about the tumultuous relationship between Bella and Edward in the media, with more than a few news segments on the dark (say quote) “depression” that Bella experiences after Edward leads. ABC news, for example, called Bella’s condition a “classic case of clinical depression.” The media has sought out shrinks and experts of all stripes to talk about Bella’s depression.
But this brings up a perfect opportunity to talk about something media hasn’t adequately addressed when talking about Bella’s feelings: namely, duration of mood.
Remember this mantra: sadness and depression are NOT the same thing. Oh, they’re related alright, but they are NOT the same thing.
For someone to have clinical depression, they have to experience a sad (say quote) “depressed” mood for most of the day for at least two weeks. But it’s important to remember that depression as a disorder isn’t usually given unless that sadness lasts at least a couple of months. Why is that?
Well, let’s go back and remember why mood disorders are disorders at all: They are incongruent with reality. That means they don’t match what’s going on in the world. If your dog dies and suddenly your all happy the next day, your mood isn’t congruent to the situation. that’s a problem.
But in the Twilight Saga, Bella has lost the love of her life. And well.... she’s not happy about it. In fact, she’s not happy about it for quite a while.
Here’s one question for everyone: Should Bella be happy that she’s lost the love of her life? Should she have gotten over it in a couple of days and been cheery? A week? 2 weeks? How...
