I honestly enjoyed the Table Talk today because it really related to what I want to do in the future. I’ve been very interested in mental health and forms of therapy since I want to be a psychiatrist in the future. Something that stood out to me during this conversation with Magdala (who is always amazing) was how different people have different defenses. How do we block others from seeing how we are feeling? Even some of the greetings have meanings that vary with tone and we, as a society, like to keep up a flawless image to present to others. One person mentioned that dressing up was their shield against society and it’s just very sad. Based on personal experiences and what I’ve seen from my friends’ experiences, it is very, very hard to keep up appearances when you just don’t want to get out of bed.

Something that has always annoyed me was how lightly we treat mental health when it really effects how we function. While we acknowledge how mental health can effect functioning, we don’t treat it as an actual issue. We either consider mental illness as an excuse for being lazy and inconsiderate of others. There are different perspectives on mental illness in different parts of the world. It’s amazing how regardless of culture, we isolate those who we deem different and that’s why so many people have shields and guards. We put on face to make sure others don’t perceive us as things to be put away or isolated. We share a fear of being outcasted because we’ve seen people who don’t fit labels being ousted. Historically, we’ve been institutionalizing people for deviating from the norm and the ghosts of these institutions are still spotted across the east coast. There are still skeletons of buildings where people were kept because they were unfit for society. Maybe, just maybe, the fear of stigma perpetuates stigmatizing others and putting on the mask of normalcy, hiding behind the accepted label.