Check out 16 Return-To-Work Programs In India For Ambitious Women Like You!
There's a 'mental hospital' game going around on Facebook that is super insensitive to those actually battling mental illness. Yes, we are stressed, but we have no right to stress them further.
There’s a ‘mental hospital’ game going around on Facebook that is super insensitive to those actually battling mental illness. Yes, we are stressed, but we have no right to stress them further.
Facebook and other social media has seen increased activity and several ‘lockdown challenges’ to make this time bearable.
Most people are working from home. Families and homes are also often oppressive spaces. So these ‘games’ with friends on social media seem like harmless fun and good stress busters on the face of it.
One such game is being touted as ‘Mental Hospital.’ It goes as follows:
I’m in a mental hospital… My roommate: Helps you escape: My Psychiatrist: Asleep in the corner: Shouts at everyone: Next room occupant: Kicks the nurse: Laughs uncontrollably: Sneaks in alcohol: Talks to self: Sings out of tune all the time: Kisses strangers: Throws dishes at cleaners: Sulks in the evening: Wants to change room partner: Jumps out of the window: Climbs the tallest trees in the garden: Tears off clothes : Copy-paste and delete the names… After each statement, type @ You’ll see a list of names of your friends! Use the first one. If first one is already used, take the next one! Don’t cheat. Have fun!
In India mental health has always been either a taboo that is rarely talked about or acknowledged, or a matter of cheap humour as is evident in this game.
The sheer lack of awareness and sensitivity can make people find “jumps out of the window” (allusion to self-harm) as funny. The other descriptions are also so clichéd, that the already huge stigma about mental healthcare as being only for the “loonies” as they say, is further being strengthened.
In India a 21 days long complete lockdown was announced on 25th March and since then India’s 1.3 billion population is under a lot of distress. There is the obvious fear of the disease and then there is also the uncertainty about future and immediate needs like food and medicines.
The corona virus outbreak has not only been the largest health crisis of our times but it is also probably the toughest psycho-social tragedies of these times too. People are under a lot of stress, anxiety and panic as expected in the face of a pandemic of this scale. Those already battling some kind of mental health condition are particularly vulnerable.
Seeing all these challenges around could trigger a panic attack, memories of confinement could being back PTSD and some might feel extremely alienated and marginalized because of their mental health.
However there have been some people who have called out this insensitivity.
Please refrain from playing such games when u come across one. Mental illness is a serious issue which needs to be dealt with compassion and no one has the right to make a mockery out of it. — Rimli Bhattacharya (@rimli76) March 28, 2020
Please refrain from playing such games when u come across one. Mental illness is a serious issue which needs to be dealt with compassion and no one has the right to make a mockery out of it.
— Rimli Bhattacharya (@rimli76) March 28, 2020
Like Prateek Sharma, a mental health columnist wrote this yesterday on facebook:
There has also been considerable backlash because those pointing this out have been trolled as being ‘killjoys’ having ‘no sense of humor’.
However we must understand that a tradition in ethical comedy insists- “always punch up, never punch down.” It simply means that don’t attack or instigate or make fun of people who are already marginalized in any way. Sadly most of the times the butt of jokes is a minority group that can’t easily defend itself, mental health survivors in this case.
Confinement due to mental health is never an easy or pleasant experience and in a lockdown when such jokes or games do the rounds, they can actually trigger a lot of pain and mental health issues for many.
Let’s encourage sensitivity towards mental health and other disabilities in comedy and humor, our jokes can be funny without demeaning or stigmatizing anyone already in a struggle.
Image source: pixabay
Pooja Priyamvada is an author, columnist, translator, online content & Social Media consultant, and poet. An awarded bi-lingual blogger she is a trained psychological/mental health first aider, mindfulness & grief facilitator, emotional wellness trainer, reflective read more...
Women's Web is an open platform that publishes a diversity of views, individual posts do not necessarily represent the platform's views and opinions at all times.
Stay updated with our Weekly Newsletter or Daily Summary - or both!
People say that women are the greatest enemies of women. I vehemently disagree. It is the patriarchal mindset that makes women believe in the wrong ideology.
The entire world celebrates International Women’s Day on March 8, 2024. It should be a joyful day, but unfortunately, not all women are entitled to this privilege, as violence against women is at its peak. The experience of oppression pushes many women to choose freedom. As far as patriotism is concerned, feminism is not a cup of tea in this society.
What happens when a woman decides to stand up for herself? Does this world easily accept the decisions of women in this society? What inspires them to be free of the clutches of the oppression that women have faced for ages? Most of the time, women do not get the chance to decide for themselves. Their lives are always at the mercy of someone, which can be their parents, siblings, husband, or children.
In some cases, women do not feel the need to make any decisions. They are taught to obey the patriarchal system, which makes them believe that they are right. In my family, I was never taught to make decisions on my own. It was always my parents who bought dresses and all that I needed.
14 years after her last feature film Dhobi Ghat, storyteller extraordinaire comes up with her new film, Laapataa Ladies, a must watch.
*Some spoilers alert*
Every religion around the world dictates terms to women. The onus is always on women to be ‘modest’ and cover their faces and bodies so men can’t be “tempted”, rather than on men to keep their eyes where they belong and behave like civilized beings. So much so that even rape has been excused on the grounds of women eating chowmein or ‘men will be men’. I think the best Hindi movie retort to this unwanted advice on ‘akeli ladki khuli tijori ki tarah hoti hai’ (an alone woman is like an open jewellery box) came from Geet in Jab We Met – Kya aap gyan dene ke paise lete hain kyonki chillar nahin hain mere paas.
The premise of Laapataa Ladies is beautifully simple – two brides clad in the ghunghat that covers their identity get mixed up on a train. Within this Russian Doll, you get a comedy of errors, a story of getting lost, a commentary on patriarchy’s attitude towards women, a mystery, and a tale of finding oneself, all in one. Done with a mostly light touch that has you laughing and nodding along.
Please enter your email address