Mental health organizations and resources - Research
The main resource I know is a webiste 13reasonswhy.info. I know about it because of a Netflix series called '13 Reasons Why'. It is a series that tackle on very difficult subject of suicide, self harm and generally mental health. At the end of each episode there would be an information, that to access helpful resources in a crisis situation, a person should visit that website.
This is what is displayed on the website when someone first opens it. There are helplines which a person can call for free to get help in crisis situations. A user can change the country and then the helplines change depending on their location. For example, if I chose Poland, I would see Polish suicide hotline etc. I think it was really important that a show like '13 reasons why' created a resource base like this because the show is difficult to take and it can be triggering for someone already dealing with suicidal thoughts.
Generally raising awareness of suicide hotlines has been an existing matter in Pop culture. For example, there is a song by Logic ft. Alessia Cara and Khalid called '1-800-273-8255'. Click here to listen to the song on Spotify.
They also gave a memorable performance of the song at 2017's MTV VMAs.
This is the performance that is there to raise awareness of the problem and show the suicide hotline number for anyone in need. I think when celebrities talk about matters like this one, it makes it reach young generation more and makes people feel not alone.
Generally mental health is still a taboo subject, therefore people feel ashamed to admit that they are struggling. There is this odd conviction that people should not feel bad if there are others who have it worse. I just see it as completely random but it does make sense. People feel bad for complaining about something when they know they should be grateful to even have it. There is always someone who has it worse, but it should not make someone's problems smaller. Sadly people are probably scared of talking about their problems, because they do not want to hear 'why are you sad? you have everything'. There is this saying 'money doesn't bring happiness', but sadly people use it only one way, that means, people use it when talking about the money, not when someone is unhappy. We live in a very difficult times to have mental health problems, but through campaigns and raising awareness we can make this world a little bit better for the ones who are struggling.
An organization that works in the UK that deals with people's mental health is called Samaritans. Click here to access their website.
This is what the website displays when it is first opened. I really like the color palette. It is green, which is a very calm color. I like that the website is easy to navigate and the options how to get help are easy to read and understand. I also found in what cases this organization can help and it seems like they offer help in a wide spectrum of situations. Some common reasons for contacting this organization are: depression, university-related stress, loss of a friend, family problems, loneliness, job-related stress, suicidal thoughts and more (Samaritans, 2021). As mentioned, this organization helps with many different situations and is a good resource for someone who is struggling. I wasn't aware of the existence of this organization and I think many young people may also not know about it, where it could be a life-saving resource for some.
Another resource, which I think is worth mentioning is a company called betterhelp.com. It is an online private counseling service and unlike Samaritans, it is not free. However, it states that it is affordable and it is like meeting an actual counselor.
This is how their website looks like and it seems very intuitive. I think it is a good resource for someone who finds it difficult to tell others about their problems. For example a teenager who can't get themselves to tell parents about how they are doing. This is a more discreet way to get help. Of course I want to break the stigma and make people not ashamed of how they are feeling, but I am not going to change every person in the world and some people will still feel too ashamed to get help in person. This is a good option for a person like that.
I can see that for all 3 websites I looked at, the color palette is very calm. Either green or light blue. I can see how it is there to represent that calmness that comes when someone gets help they need. I can see how I could incorporate these colors in my animation to represent the help. I could possibly create the world in those calm colors at the end to show a positive happy ending. I could also use the colors in the poster designs for my project. I think this research made me aware of options that are there and of colors that go with them. I think I could at the end of my animation give out a number for Samaritans for example as an example of an organization that can help. I could also give a suicide hotline number. These are things to think about.
Good consideration of the colour within this research element, important in terms of passing on a calming atmosphere to the viewer of your animation. About Mental Health, it is becoming less of a 'taboo' issue in recent years, there is a much 'healthier' attitude to people's experience of this than in the past few decades. Really strong post - great variety of sources and ideas here.
Good consideration of the colour within this research element, important in terms of passing on a calming atmosphere to the viewer of your animation. About Mental Health, it is becoming less of a 'taboo' issue in recent years, there is a much 'healthier' attitude to people's experience of this than in the past few decades. Really strong post - great variety of sources and ideas here.
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