Plath, Sexton, and Mental Illness

Both Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton battled mental illness for the majority of their careers, before eventually losing their lives to it.  Since then, Plath especially, has had books, movies, and research done that depict her life and her mental illness. Though these portrayals, and others of mental illness, serve to inform viewers, they also tend to perpetuate a negative stigma about mental diseases. In many cases, the disorders are sensationalized. Plath’s daughter was even quoted as saying, “since she died, my mother has been dissected, analyzed, reinterpreted, reinvented, fictionalized, and in some cases completely fabricated”. The reporting on mental illness often leads to a negative view from the public. According to research done in 2007, “the mentally disordered are portrayed as 10 times more likely to be a violent criminals than non-mentally disordered characters” (Diefenbach).

Sexton has also been subjected to negative media portrayals after her death. Sexton’s work has commonly been classified as “confessional” and in 1969 she was quoted as saying “I hold back nothing” (Stanley). After she died and without her consent, the details of her therapy sessions, intended to help with her depression and mood swings, were released and made public. According to the New York Times, the sessions revealed that Sexton admitted to molesting her daughter. The chairman of the ethics committee of the American Psychiatric Association has publicly disapproved of the decision to release the records, saying “A patient’s right to confidentiality survives after death” (Stanley), however the family agreed to it. Though Sexton’s actions were wrong, the release of her records without her permission breaks patient confidentiality and also serves to demonize her mental illness. Would Sexton’s family doctor be able to release her medical records, unpunished?

In television, mentally ill characters are more likely to be portrayed negatively, with characteristics such as “violent”, “unpredictable”, and “dangerous” as common attributes (Diefenbach). A study in 2007 set out to examine whether the way media, television shows in particular, portrays mentally ill individuals effects individuals’ opinions on mental illness. The study found that “more than 1/3 of all mentally disordered characters… committed at least one violent crime, and the majority of mentally disordered criminals were multiple offenders” (Diefenbach). After testing random participants who viewed these shows, they found that “experiments in a controlled setting have proven that these portrayals do impact attitudes” (Diefenbach). The growing stigma around mental illness harms patients by creating a sense of guilt and personal responsibility for their illness. When mental illness is treated as an evil instead of a disease, it can isolate sufferers from society and from seeking help. Finally, the stigma surrounding it and the effects it has on society prevent professionals from clearly understanding and creating treatment for patients.

Diefenbach, D. L. and West, M. D. (2007), Television and attitudes toward mental health issues: Cultivation analysis and the third-person effect. J. Community Psychol., 35: 181–195. doi: 10.1002/jcop.20142

Stanley, Alessandra. "Poet Told All; Therapist Provides the Record." The New York Times. The New York Times, 14 July 1991. Web. 1 Dec. 2014.