• Mental Health can affect the workplace too
• According to the Indian Journal Of Occupational & Environmental Medicine, it is said that many issues such as hypertension and cardiovascular issues can be attributed to poor mental health
• Mental health can be a reason why some people quit their jobs
• As of 2010, in the Netherlands, 58% of work related disabilities were a result of mental health struggles
• It was also revealed that in the UK, 30-40% of illnesses that caused people to miss work were due to poor mental health
This meme was posted on our Facebook page a while back. Something that may cause stress for people is working during the holidays. Depending on the job, it could be detrimental to their mental well being. This meme is meant to shed light on that fact. Many college students or even high school students may feel this because after a long and hard semester, they may feel burnt out and ready to crash. Then they learn that they have to work for the holidays and don’t get to savor any time. Even adults may feel this sort of stress. While most jobs allow people to take the holidays off, some are more demanding and require more people to be available to work. Depending on the person and what they are going through, that can be really stressful
The reason Emperor Palpatine is so powerful may in fact be mental illness
With Star Wars Episode IX: “The Rise Of Skywalker” hitting the big screen in a little over a month, we decided to do something a little different. You might be thinking, “but this is a mental health site, why are we talking about Star Wars?” Good question. The final installment of the Skywalker Saga is heavily anticipated due to the return of an iconic and powerful character; none other than Emperor Palpatine, also known as Darth Sidious. The video linked below is from 2016, but is still very relevant given that Palpatine is coming back in Episode IX.
In the video, the creator, The Stupendous Wave, talks about how it might be possible that Palpatine suffers from a mental illness. He relates The Emperor’s behavior throughout the saga to that of a sociopath. A sociopath is defined as “a person with a personality disorder manifesting itself in extreme anti-social attitudes and behavior, and a lack of conscience.” Though throughout the Star Wars prequel trilogy and The Clone Wars animated series, Palpatine does not exhibit any anti-social behavior, the part about lacking in conscience is true. After the chosen one, Anakin Skywalker gives himself over to the dark side, and becomes Darth Vader, Palpatine sends him to the Jedi temple, after telling him, “Do not hesitate, show no mercy.” Immediately following this, Vader goes to the Jedi temple and slaughters the vast majority of the Jedi within, including several Jedi Younglings. Though we don’t see Palpatine’s reaction, we can see during his duel with Yoda that he is ultimately proud of what he accomplished, laughing hysterically and clearly showing no remorse for ordering the execution of children.
This isn’t even the first time we see him completely devoid of compassion. When he discovers that his former apprentice, Darth Maul survived his duel with Obi Wan Kenobi, he travels to the planet of Mandalore to confront him and his brother Savage Oppress, after learning that the two brothers were claiming to follow the Sith rule of two, which states that there can only be one master and one apprentice at any given time. This is after Maul was presumed dead by Sidious and replaced by Count Dooku. What follows is a duel to the death, where Sidious manages to kill Savage, then subsequently defeats Maul. At the end of the duel, Maul begs his former master for mercy, to which Sidious replies, “There is no mercy.” Sidious then proceeds to shoot force lightning at Maul, torturing him, but at the same time, taking pleasure in it, as we see him laughing.
It is important to note that the dark side of the force feeds off of negative emotions such as pain, anger, hatred, and suffering, as well as having little to no conscience. It is also explained in the video that a Sith or dark side wielder must never show mercy, or else their power severely diminishes. We see this in Return Of The Jedi, when Darth Vader is fighting his son and is conflicted. We know deep down that he does not want to kill Luke. Luke is all he has left of his dead wife, Padmé Amidala, whom he only wanted to save from dying in childbirth, which was the reason he pledged himself to Palpatine in the first place. This compassion ultimately results in Luke defeating his father, and almost turning to the dark side himself. We also see after Vader throws Palpatine down the reactor shaft, that he is barely able to move, in part because his suit is so sensitive to force lightning, but also, because he has let go of his hate. We see after he is defeated by Obi Wan Kenobi in Revenge Of The Sith and is left to burn alive, he’s able to cling to life solely due to his newfound hatred for his old master. Even moments later, after he is put into his suit, we see in a comic that takes place just after we cut away from him in Episode III as he learns of his wife’s death, that he can withstand a great deal of force lightning. Though not shown in the film, the comic shows Vader attempting to kill his master, then Palpatine retaliating with a barrage of lightning. This does not kill Vader. Though he is hit with a ton of lightning, he is fully immersed in the dark side of the force, and uses his pain to keep himself going. His compassion is gone at that point, as he now wants nothing but revenge on Obi Wan.
After the Galactic Empire has risen and most of the Jedi have either been killed or forced into exile, Palpatine begins to show anti-social behavior, as the video explains. We hardly see him at all in Star Wars: Rebels, or in the Original Trilogy. He only makes a brief appearance in The Empire Strikes Back before playing a more prominent role in Return Of The Jedi. Palpatine is not out conducting missions at this time. He’s normally in one place, ruling the galaxy and pulling the strings from behind the scenes while Vader does most of the dirty work. We also only see him directly speaking to Vader and eventually Luke Skywalker during Episodes IV-VI.
So what does this mean for The Rise Of Skywalker? Well, as we saw in Return Of The Jedi, Palpatine is ultimately betrayed and seemingly killed by a redeemed Darth Vader, who has a change of heart after watching his master attempt to kill his son with force lightning. We then see our Emperor explode, as a blast of blue energy rises up from the reactor shaft. We believe there that Palpatine is gone and vanquished from the galaxy. However, this is not the case. While he may have been killed by Vader, a part of him still remains, as we found out in the teaser for Episode IX, when we heard that faimiliar laugh. Of course, as usual, Palpatine can’t be up to any good. In between Return Of The Jedi and The Rise Of Skywalker, Palpatine has to have been planning something. He likely hasn’t spoken with anyone since he was betrayed by Vader. He’s probably scheming and pulling strings from behind the scenes, in which is exhibiting more anti-social behavior, which, as the video reveals, is a potential trait of a sociopath. In the official trailer, he says, “Long have I waited. And now, your coming together is your undoing.” This leads us to believe that he has been out of sight and alone since he was betrayed, planning his ultimate return and keeping to himself as he gathers his powers and prepares to wreak havoc on the galaxy one final time. It remains to be seen what Palpatine will do in The Rise Of Skywalker, but whatever it is, it can’t be good, and we know he’ll immensely enjoy the horrific acts he’s about to commit.
This comic depicts somebody in a wheel chair, completely handicapped and a person next to them telling them to “try harder.” At the top, there is a hashtag. #mentalillnessfeelslike. This is relative to how some people may feel. When people are struggling with mental illness, they tend to become exhausted and tired. They may try to do things that are impossible or even add things to their workload, which in turn makes them more stressed. Some people, not knowing what mental illness can feel like, might brush this off and tell the person struggling something along the lines of “cheer up” or “try harder.” In reality, the people are trying all they can and sometimes, it can be a little too much for them to bare. When people make those types of comments, it adds extra stress to the person struggling, as they now know that there is at least one person telling them that they are not doing enough. They may then try to do even more, which is counterintuitive.
Article From National Alliance on Mental Illness details 5 ways to manage mental health over the holidays
How to manage mental health during the holiday season
Stay in therapy
Mindfulness
Don’t rely on drugs/alcohol
Soak up the sun
Set realistic goals
These are all ways to stay up on your mental health during holiday seasons. The article linked below by the National Alliance on Mental Illness mentions how some people struggle with their mental health patterns depending on the season. It is important to stay in therapy and have that regularly scheduled so you can see somebody and they can possibly help give you coping strategies for how to deal with the stresses of the holiday season. Mindfulness and meditation is also on the list. This is useful for any time of year for anybody who is struggling with mental health. It helps calm the mind.
People sometimes fall back on drugs and alcohol to relieve their stress, which in turn makes everything worse. According to the article, there is a 20% overlap between people with substance abuse problems and anxiety and mood disorders. It is also mentioned that people should set realistic goals. Some people reflect on the past and feel as if they are not in a place that they should be at a certain point of their lives. If people adjust their expectations and goals, they can alleviate stress.
These five tips from the American Psychological Association are very helpful and can benefit people who are feeling stressed, specifically college students. College students have to deal with a heavy workload and need time to relax. It is important to do things such as take breaks in order to minimize the stress and also keep yourself from being overloaded with work. It takes the pressure off of people to have fallback options when they are stressed. It helps them get away from what is causing them trouble and focus on things that make them happy.
This meme depicts a cartoon character in deep thought. This is also a popular meme. It is the “not sure if…” meme. This one shows a person experiencing good feelings, but also not sure if their mental state has improved or if it is just some false hope that is fleeting. People who struggle with mental health my wonder this if they are feeling good. Their minds drift back to the struggles and so they are cautiously optimistic, not wanting to take that moment for granted, especially if something drastic were to happen and ruin their good mood.
This meme with the kid in the sunglasses is meant to depict somebody dealing with a lot of struggles, but being able to hide them. That person is putting on a poker face. It all goes back to the saying “fake it ‘till you make it.” It goes to show that we can never tell what someone is going through. We can look at people and make assumptions, but we are never completely certain. A lot of people are afraid to show their emotions and say how they really feel, so this meme is meant to represent that.
Did you know: According to PBS, before there were treatment centers, mental illness/mental health struggle was framed as nothing more than demonic possession or religious punishment.
According to Prospect Magazine, there is a link between mental health struggles and conspiracy theories. The Journal of Experimental Social Psychology conducted a study back in March of 2017 by the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology regarding mental health and conspiracy theories. In this study, people were asked to write about a falling out with a friend and relate that to conspiracy theories. Those theories included one that stated drug companies withhold cures and one that stated that the government controls its population through subliminal messages. A professor at Anglia Ruskin University conducted a study where he asked people whether or not they believed certain conspiracy theories, such as the moon landings being faked, as well as the possibility that Martin Luther King Jr. was actually assassinated by the United States Government. The study revealed that the more people are under stress, the more likely it is that they will think irrationally and believe certain theories such as the ones mentioned above. “In the aftermath of distressing events,” he continued, “it is possible that some individuals may seek out conspiracist explanations that reinstall a sense of order or control,” said Viren Swami, the professor who conducted this experiment.
An article from the Scientific American states that the reason people come up with conspiracy theories is that they are experiencing intense loneliness. This was found in the same study done by Journal of Experimental Social Psychology conducted a study in 2017. The people in the survey were mostly college students, and when they talked about their falling out with friends (mentioned above), they felt more excluded. The more isolated the students were, the more likely they were to think irrationally just to find meaning in the whole situation.
Mental Health For College Students 