A short film portraying a spectrum of mental illnesses that people deal with on a daily basis.
On screen:
Mental Health is Real
FADE IN:
Sound of a heartbeat
On Screen:
It is estimated that 350 million people of all ages live with depression. – World Health Organization
Affecting 1 in every 3 people, anxiety is the most common form of mental illness in the world. – Futurity.org
CUT TO: Sound of a beeping
On Screen:
On average one person dies from suicide every 40 seconds. – Suicide.org
CUT TO: Sound of a heartbeat and fade into scene of garage door opening.
VARIOUS SPEAKERS
Who am I as a person?
Am I brave?
Am I Strong?
Am I Fearless?
Am I the sort of person that will do anything for those around me?
Am I a person that can put others before myself?
For so many people these are the hardest questions to answer.
MENTAL HEALTH IS REAL
CUT TO: Characters acting behind screen, shadows shown.
NARRATED:
When living with a mental illness people only comment on their sense of identity when they think it gone.
We make and create our own identity and that makes us who we are but mental illness can take that away in seconds.
Children don’t understand the effects on their parents.
YOUNG CHILD – MALE
Why is mummy crying all the time?
YOUNG CHILD – FEMALE
Why won’t daddy buy me a toy?
NARRATED:
There are people fighting overseas to protect us but who is there to protect them when they come home? We thank them for their service but then they are left to fend for themselves? Posttraumatic stress disorder is real and it affects people more than you realize.
MENTAL HEALTH IS REAL
NARRATED – WOMAN
When living with mental illness nobody notices the anorexic girl at the back of the class while she starves herself in order to be seen by the ‘cool kids’.
NARRATED – MAN
The ‘crazy lady’ talking to herself while waiting for the bus needs to avoided because she is weird and different, but in reality she is simply living her life, that includes her schizophrenia.
NARRATED – WOMAN
The adolescent girl spends hours studying for her psychology test but the night before experiences a panic attack where she feels the walls slowly closing in. Her anxiety breaks her down and begins to shred her sense of self.
MENTAL HEALTH IS REAL
NARRATED – WOMAN
When living with mental illness the highest of highs can quickly turn into the lowest of lows. People with bipolar live isolated lives so they don’t stand out from the crowd.
Parents share the joys of their new child with their family and friends but behind closed doors there is another story unfolding. A mother lets her baby cry while she sobs into her own hands. Feeling disconnected to her child, post-natal depression is beating her.
CUT TO: Sound of conversation in the background.
NARRATED – WOMAN
Sitting at the dinner table the elderly man needs to be reminded that his granddaughter isn’t his wife, as Alzheimer’s slowly dissolves what is left of his everyday memories.
MENTAL HEALTH IS REAL
NARRATED – VARIOUS VOICES
Who do you think you are?
Who do you think you are?
Who do you think you are?
This is a question that strikes the heart of identity itself. The question is used as a reminder for you to not get above yourself but to remember who you truly are.
Discuss