2/27/2018 RETRO REVIEW: ‘THE REST OF US JUST LIVE HERE’ WHY IS THERE GUILT ASSOCIATED WITH MENTAL ILLNESSES?Read NowIn today’s society, there is still a large stigma around mental illnesses. Recently, there has been more awareness about how mental illnesses affects people, but there is still a lasting stigma around those who suffer from mental disorders. While the world is more understanding that mental illnesses are not the fault of those who experience them, those affected still often blame themselves. Why do people with mental illnesses blame themselves and feel guilty? We took this question to heart because we want people to feel comfortable being who they are, and not to be ashamed of how their minds function. We don’t think that people should feel bad about who they are based on how they think, especially when they have no control over it. While we personally do not suffer from mental illnesses we see people around us suffer from them everyday, and believe it’s important for people to be educated in order to better understand. People who suffer from mental illness that blame themselves can be seen in various young adult novels such as The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness. In this book, two of the main characters both suffer from mental disorders. Mike suffers from anxiety while Mel struggles with eating disorders. Although they experience different things, they both often feel ashamed about having them. Throughout the book, they talk about not wanting their minds to burden other people's lives. Their mother is a politician who has the media's full attention surrounding her family forcing her them under scrutiny and always having to be on defense. Both Mel and Mike don’t want their disorders to put their mothers campaign at risk because of an unstable life at home. Along with their mothers busy schedule, they also have to work around their alcoholic father and take care of their younger sister. Under the pressure of their upcoming graduation and strange deaths within their school Mike and Mel's mental illnesses start to make a reappearance in their lives. In the end, Mike comes to the realization that his anxiety does not rule his life. He is strong enough to overcome it and that he has people that care about him to help him when he needs it. People love him for him which includes his mental illness, without it he wouldn't be the person he is in the end. He is not seen as a burden that other people have to put up with. This is a great life lesson, and everyone who reads The Rest Of Us Just Live Here can take something positive away from it. While the book does not center around mental illness, the themes of it perfectly effects how mental illnesses affect those that experience it. Alexis Rolling, Chyna Bergevin and Joy Kriss are all seniors at Mount Pleasant High School in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. After high school they all plan on attending colleges to gain a higher education.
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