{"id":28051,"date":"2016-03-21T16:47:39","date_gmt":"2016-03-21T20:47:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/?p=28051"},"modified":"2016-03-21T16:47:39","modified_gmt":"2016-03-21T20:47:39","slug":"in-her-place-learning-to-be-aware-of-the-symptoms-of-depression-and-suicidal-behaviour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/2016\/03\/21\/in-her-place-learning-to-be-aware-of-the-symptoms-of-depression-and-suicidal-behaviour\/","title":{"rendered":"In Her Place: Learning to be Aware of the Symptoms of Depression and Suicidal Behaviour\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"When faced with someone showing symptoms of depression and\/or suicidal behaviour, only the person who recognizes these symptoms and this behaviour will realize the person requires help.\r\n\r\nI learned this lesson when I sat at Innis Town Hall\u2019s theatre to watch one of the Asian Reel Film Festival\u2019s films, In Her Place<\/em>. Originally, I thought I would be watching a film touching on the theme of being a diasporic Asian. It turned out the short film preceding In Her Place <\/em>focused on this theme, but In Her Place <\/em>didn\u2019t. In Her Place<\/em> delved into the unfortunate reasons and dire consequences of being unware of the symptoms of depression and suicidal behaviour.\r\n\r\n
\"The<\/a>
The theatre where the movie took place.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nIn Her Place <\/em>is a film that takes place in the countryside of South Korea. A woman from Seoul arrives in rural South Korea and strikes a deal with a family living there: She wants to adopt the unborn child of the family\u2019s teen daughter. As such, the city woman and the daughter\u2019s mother agree that the city woman will stay with them until the daughter gives birth to the child. Afterwards, the city woman will take the baby back with her to Seoul.\r\n\r\n
\"A<\/a>
The poster for this unprecedented emotive movie. Photo courtesy of\u00a0\u00a0 http:\/\/asianwiki.com\/images\/e\/e6\/In_Her_Place-p01.jpeg<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\nFrom there on, the film focuses on the daughter and the turmoil of emotions inside her. After her unexpected pregnancy, her mother hovers over her at every moment. She forbids her daughter from seeing her boyfriend, despite her pleas\u2014though, unbeknown to her daughter, the mother does this because she knows the town will shun her if they find out about her pregnancy. The mother is also hyper-aware of her daughter\u2019s physical state as her daughter\u2019s pregnancy goes on, always reminding her to eat well so the baby will be healthy.\r\n\r\nHowever, she doesn\u2019t realize her daughter doesn\u2019t want the pregnancy. To the daughter, the pregnancy is nothing but a hindrance. It was unintended\u2014an accident. And yet, now, because of this pregnancy and child, the daughter can\u2019t see her boyfriend. She won\u2019t even be keeping the baby after it\u2019s born. Her pregnancy will not benefit her, so she comes to hate her pregnant state. Contrarily, the mother assumes her daughter wants the baby to be healthy and wants the adoption, never stopping to realize the daughter\u2019s lack of acceptance of the pregnancy, as well as her lack of investment in a healthy outcome for the baby.\r\n\r\nThrough subtle action and indirect conversations, it becomes apparent the girl feels like she\u2019s losing control of her own life. Yet she doesn\u2019t feel like she can confide about her worries with anyone. She keeps them bottled up inside of her, withdrawing from everyone. As the film goes on, viewers see her gradual descent to depression and her\u00a0decision, at the end, to end her life.\r\n\r\nTo say the film left me distressed, heartbroken, and on the verge of tears would be an understatement.\r\n\r\nAt the Asian Reel Film Festival\u2019s panel a few days afterwards, the director, Albert Shin, elaborated on his film. To him, there are \u201cno bad people\u201d in the film.\r\n\r\nHe does an excellent job of showing this. Every character in his film is fleshed out and complex, and none of them can be categorized as good or evil. There truly are no bad people in this film. The characters don\u2019t mean to make others suffer, yet their actions inevitably cause suffering nonetheless; in the case of the girl, it ends with her decision to end her life.\r\n\r\nAs I saw in the film, the girl suffers because of her mother\u2019s actions. In her eyes, her mother is preventing her from seeing her lover, and her mother is making her carry a child she doesn\u2019t want. Of course, viewers see the mother doesn\u2019t mean for her actions to be perceived this way. The director explains the mother\u2019s actions are \u201cwell-meaning.\u201d She wants to protect her daughter from stigma, and she wants her daughter\u2019s baby to be safe and delivered to someone who can take care of her\u2014the city woman. However, this becomes what he calls \u201cmisplaced love.\u201d\r\n\r\nIt\u2019s clear the mother loves her daughter, but unfortunately, sometimes it just doesn\u2019t come through in the right direction. Perhaps the mother should have let her daughter see her boyfriend, but she was only doing what she thought was best for her. She doesn\u2019t mean to isolate her daughter or make her feel powerless; she just wants to protect her. However, the daughter doesn\u2019t see this. She feels \u201cinadequate.\u201d\r\n\r\nTo viewers, her feeling of inadequacy is visible. However, this inadequacy is much more visible to us because because the girl is the center of our focus\u2014we see the details only someone who is observant around her would notice. We see she suffers from depression. We see she needs help.\r\n\r\nIf the mother knew her daughter was suffering, she would have obviously tried to help. However, she doesn\u2019t notice, and it\u2019s understandable. She\u2019s busy working long hours as a labourer. She\u2019s busy ensuring her daughter and the baby are healthy. Though there are times when her daughter shows obvious signs of depression, she seems to dismiss them as her daughter simply feeling a little down, perhaps because of her daughter\u2019s pregnancy or perhaps because she is unable to see her boyfriend; regardless, the mother doesn\u2019t recognize her daughter\u2019s behaviour reveals certain symptoms of depression and suicidal behaviour\u2014she doesn\u2019t recognize them until it\u2019s too late.\r\n\r\nIf there\u2019s one thing this film taught me, it\u2019s this: Be aware of the symptoms of depression and recognize suicidal behaviour. Consider registering for one of U of T\u2019s safeTALK: Suicide Alertness For Everyone workshop<\/a>, and check out Madelin\u2019s post on her experience with safeTALK<\/a>.\r\n\r\n
\"A<\/a>
Here is a re-post of the resources Madelin provides at the end of her blog post. http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2015\/11\/Screenshot-2015-11-20-20.41.33.png<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\nIf you ever have the chance to watch the film, please watch it. The film combines amazing cinematography, a complex cast of characters, a heartbreaking and engaging story, and many, many important themes and messages I will never forget.\r\n\r\nIn addition to attending the film and panel, I had the honour of interviewing a U of T Health and Wellness<\/a> personal counsellor, Dr. Kate Witheridge, about recognizing the symptoms of mental illness and how to seek help.\r\n\r\nDo you find students have difficulty booking their first appointment? If so, why?<\/strong>\r\n\r\nI think it depends on the person. Some people have difficulty because it\u2019s their first time seeking help, and they\u2019re not sure how to do that or what to expect. Sometimes people are also embarrassed; they don\u2019t want to tell people they\u2019re feeling anxious or feeling depressed, and they are worried about talking about it for the first time. I also think there are barriers of not knowing how to get to the services they need or what services they need.\r\n\r\nOther people who have been to treatment before or have had friends or family who sought treatment or counselling here may be more open to it. I think it depends on whether the student has done it before, or if they have other support, or if this is the first time they sought treatment.\r\n\r\nWhat advice would you offer to students wanting to take that first step?<\/strong>\r\n\r\nSometimes students think, \u201cAm I the only person who\u2019s experienced this?\u201d or \u201cIf I talk about something personal, are people going to judge me or think my problems are silly or not important or embarrassing?\u201d I often say to people who come visit me, \u201cI\u2019ve probably heard about it before and we might have some techniques to help you.\u201d I think people are worried I won\u2019t be able to help them. We know about things like anxiety, depression, relationships, and stress while being at school; we have techniques to help them.\r\n\r\nAlso it helps to know that we are here to help, and there\u2019s no problem too big or too small for us.\u00a0 I think it can be hard to talk with somebody you don\u2019t know or when you don\u2019t know what\u2019s going on. All of us are here to support students. We\u2019re here because we enjoy working with students, and we want to help students. For students to know we actually like it and want to support students could be helpful.\r\n\r\nThey can also seek treatment and help from other resources on campus. There\u2019s counselling with us, peer mentorship, counsellors at different faculties\u2014engineering,\u00a0dentistry and\u00a0some of the colleges. There may be connections closer to where they\u2019re going to school.\r\n\r\nAlso, we\u2019ve all been through university, and we can understand what it\u2019s like to be stressed about exams or midterms or relationships or being away from home for the\u00a0first time. It\u2019s helpful for students to know that we are here to help, and we can relate to experiences.\r\n\r\nWhat would you say to students who fear possible stigma?<\/strong>\r\n\r\nThere are a lot of things that are common in university students. Within this population, the two main things people come in for are anxiety and depression. It\u2019s common for student to feel sad or anxious, so it\u2019s good to understand that although people don\u2019t always talk about it, we, from this side, see a lot of this. You aren\u2019t alone. There are other people who experience anxiety and depression.\r\n\r\nMaybe you might feel anxious now, but with treatment, you\u2019re not going to be constantly anxious. Or with depression, similar sometimes to physical illnesses\u2014maybe once you get treatment, you\u2019ll feel better. We can work on decreasing that depression and decreasing that anxiety. They\u2019re similar to symptoms of stomach aches or allergies where we can actually look [the symptoms] up and get the treatment.\r\n\r\nHow can students find out about these symptoms?<\/strong>\r\n\r\nYou can always go to our website<\/a> to look up this information. The other places I would recommend are the Canada Psychological Association<\/a>; they have information, such as when to seek treatment, things about counselling\u2014that\u2019s a great resource. Also, the Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Therapies<\/a> has some great handouts and self-help worksheets as well. Both websites also have great resources, such as, \u201cWhat does counselling looks like?\u201d or \u201cWhat would happen if I did go to a psychologist or a counsellor?\u201d That\u2019s always helpful in terms of helping people seek treatment to understand what it looks like. Sometimes we see things on TV, and it\u2019s usually psychoanalysis on a couch. In reality, a lot of counselling is just talking about what those difficulties are and teaching people coping skills.\r\n\r\nSo you can go to our website or you can go to the other websites to find out the common symptoms; it\u2019s also a great way to find out what counselling looks like and what exactly goes on. It can help students understand what they\u2019re looking for or realize, \u201cOh yeah I fit into that category where I do have anxiety in this situation,\u201d or \u201cI do notice it\u2019s hard for me to get out of bed,\u201d and \u201cThis is what counselling might look like.\u201d\r\n\r\nWhat advice would you offer to a student if the student notices these symptoms in a friend?<\/strong>\r\n\r\nI always recommend talking to friends about what they notice. I recommend them talking about behaviours. \u201cSo I noticed you\u2019ve been missing class,\u201d or \u201cI\u2019ve noticed you don\u2019t seem as happy as before,\u201d or \u201cI noticed you\u2019re really anxious about coming out with us,\u201d and not put labels, such as, \u201cYou seem really depressed,\u201d or \u201cYou seem anxious\u201d because I think any of us might react defensively. But if we talk about things in terms of behaviours you\u2019re concerned about, such as, \u201cIs there anything you want to talk about?\u201d or \u201cIs there anything we can do to help?\u201d people who are anxious, depressed, angry, or stressed out will notice and say, \u201cThanks for asking. I\u2019m having difficulty in this.\u201d People might feel less judged if you bring it up this way.\r\n\r\nIt\u2019s a great way of bringing up those things without making people feel defensive, but also a way to say, \u201cI haven\u2019t noticed you coming to class as much,\u201d or \u201cI\u2019m concerned about this.\u201d\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nHave you ever watched a film or attended a panel that taught you something about mental illness? Let me know in the comments below, or through @lifeatuoft on Twitter!<\/em>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When faced with someone showing symptoms of depression and\/or suicidal behaviour, only the person who recognizes these symptoms and this behaviour will realize the person requires help.\r\n\r\nI learned this lesson when I sat at Innis Town Hall\u2019s theatre to watch one of the Asian Reel Film Festival\u2019s films, In Her Place<\/em>. Originally, I thought I would be watching a film touching on the theme of being a diasporic Asian. It turned out the short film preceding In Her Place <\/em>focused on this theme, but In Her Place <\/em>didn\u2019t. In Her Place<\/em> delved into the unfortunate reasons and dire consequences of being unware of the symptoms of depression and suicidal behaviour.\r\n\r\n
\"The<\/a>
The theatre where the movie took place.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n
Continue reading “In Her Place: Learning to be Aware of the Symptoms of Depression and Suicidal Behaviour\u00a0”<\/span>…<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"author":268,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[66,67],"tags":[1655,16214,9457,564,9307,15717,16212,6784,16213],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28051"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/268"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28051"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28051\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28073,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28051\/revisions\/28073"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28051"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}