Mental illness is something that society tends to tiptoe around. This allows for many inaccurate interpretations to prevail. The 2016 film Split deals with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), formerly known as Multiple Personality Disorder, a mental illness in which a person copes with a horrible trauma by fragmenting themselves into two or more personality states. The movie portrays sufferers of DID as being violent and dangerous, which is a stereotype that can stir up a stigma against them. Many more illnesses have been inaccurately portrayed throughout Hollywood, distorting America’s understanding of these seemingly enigmatic illnesses. Because of how Hollywood’s skewed representation of mental illness has been such a “hot topic” in media outlets recently, there is a growing need to get real answers about mental illness.

One on One with Barbara Van Dahlen, Ph.D.

Founder of Give An Hour, a nonprofit that provides free mental health services to military veterans and their families, and listed as one of TIME magazine’s 100 most influential people in 2012, Van Dahlen sheds light on mental illness and it’s prominence in teens.

What do you think about how mental illness is portrayed in television and movies?
“Portrayals have improved but we could do a lot better. We still don’t convey the reality that one in five of us has a diagnosable mental health condition which means that a lot of us struggle and have challenges, but we are living our lives. Mental health is a part of us – just like physical health. There have been some great movies over the last few years that have helped: Silver Linings Playbook and Love & Mercy. We need to do more, but we are working on it.”

Why is mental illness still not considered a real illness?
“I think that people want to believe they can overcome anything that is mental or psychological. We don’t like to feel vulnerable, and feeling that our thoughts and our emotions are not under our control makes us feel very vulnerable. It can be scary. So if we believe that we should easily be able to get over being depressed, or anxious then it doesn’t feel so scary. People are afraid of illnesses. Cancer is a very scary thing still to most people because we can’t control it and we don’t know if we can cure it. I think it’s the same with mental illness – people don’t like to think about something being out of their control or something they may not be able to cure.”

How prevalent is mental illness in teens?
“Mental health challenges often show up during the teen years. If you are genetically predisposed, the normal stress of this time of life often reveals these tendencies – anxiety, depression, schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Substance abuse is often a reaction to one of these issues or a reaction to trauma, and there are a lot of teens who experience trauma. Eating disorders are also common during this time of life that can be a reaction to anxiety, self esteem struggles, peer pressure and so on. Everyone suffers at some point emotionally, both teens and adults. Life can be challenging, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t good, satisfying or meaningful. It is important to remember that we are all affected by our genetic predisposition, life events and the support system – or lack thereof – that we have. It is like a big soup, and most of the ingredients are beyond our control. Teens have normal mood swings, so it is normal for them to have self doubts. It is what we do to help each other with these doubts and mood swings that determines whether the suffering will be short-lived or prolonged or whether the suffering will possibly develop into something more serious.”

What would you say to teens struggling?
“I would say that we all struggle – it’s part of being human. That’s not to diminish the real significant pain that we sometimes feel. It is important to understand that being in pain and struggling doesn’t mean you are weak, damaged or broken: it means you are human. I would encourage them to share their pain, their worries and their fears. Find people they trust to talk to. Try different things to help them – different things help different people. Counseling, medication, meditation, exercise, writing, painting… The point is to find out what helps you emotionally and then do more of that. Don’t be afraid to reach out for help. We all need it at different points in our lives.”

How can family members and friends help someone struggling with depression or any other mental disorder?
“People need to be real. They need to show up and be honest about themselves with the people they love. They need to let the person know they see that they’re hurting and that they want to help and be with them even if they can’t take the pain away. Family members need to acknowledge what’s happening and get their loved one evaluated by a professional if they see things that concern them. Don’t ignore the signs. If you are wrong, so what. You reach out and let someone know you care enough to be concerned because that is what you would do if somebody had a high fever. We need to do the same thing with mental illness. There are so many good approaches and treatments today – far too many people suffer when they don’t need to.”