Mental Illnesses In Tim O Brien's Analysis

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The lack of acceptance towards mental illnesses being considered actual illnesses has left many people with a fractured truth about mental illnesses as a whole. Although society is getting better at dealing with mental illnesses, there is still the perception that mental illnesses do not need to be treated because they are not visible wounds, which is completely untrue. Both John and Kathy think like this. "... Kathy did not insist that he see a psychiatrist ad that John did not feel the need to seek help." (O'Brien 75) This validates the fact that the reason why John did not get help was because of this "truth". The fact is that a person who is mentally ill needs treatment to get better. Another common misconception is that mental illnesses …show more content…

"My sister seemed almost scared of him sometimes. I remember this one time when Kathy..." (O'Brien 27) This shows that John's PTSD effected Kathy's mental and possibly her physical wellbeing. In actuality, mental illnesses do not just effect the person who has it, the illness effects their close relatives, friends and society as a whole. Lastly, people think that mental illnesses can be cured with only medication. The truth is that a person needs therapy, support from other and a want to get better to cure a mental illness, not just pills. Kathy is a perfect example of someone believing this lie. "Certainly the pressures were enormous. She was on Valium and Restoril. The ruins were everywhere. Her husband, the election, the unborn child in her heart." (O'Brien 250) This pills that Kathy is taking are ones for anxiety (Valium) and insomnia (Restoril) which can both be considered mental illnesses. She knows why she is having these disorders, but does not do anything to fix them; she thinks that the pills will do it for her. Therefore, it is important that people understand that to treat these illnesses, so much more is needed than just medication. Many of the "truths" or mental illnesses have been proved false and Tim O'Brien brings to light the realities or this

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