Germanwings Airbus A320
On the Tuesday (24th March), Germanwings Airbus A320 crashed into the French Alps, killing all of the 150 people on the plane. It has since been found that the pilot had been locked out of the cock pit, the German co-pilot had been suffering from severe depression and had been signed off sick as a result. There have been many questions as to why he was able to fly, although we will never know the answer now, having suffered from mental health issues, and continue to do so today, I can imagine him being in denial about the severity of his illness, and therefore hiding it from his employer and continuing to fly.
Neighbours of the co-pilot said he appeared completely normal, however there is no such thing as normal, and anybody can be affected by mental health issues. In most societies there is a perceived image of what a mentally ill person should look, this is never the case though. Erratic behaviour, loss of control, hear voices and so on.
The news has stigmatised mental even more so, as to begin with the refused to comment on his illness, which has since come out, but he is also being labelled a mass murderer, I am not disputing the fact 149 lives were lost that day, but I would not label the man as a 'murderer' as he would have been so unwell to be able to make think rationally. By labelling the co-pilot, the media have stigmatised the one in four of us who have mental illnesses. Not all that live with mental illnesses will harm others, they are actually more of a harm to themselves than to others.
One Direction: Zayn Malik leaves.
I am not a huge One Direction fan, but news broke on Wednesday (25th March) that Zayn Malik has quit the band. The news came a blow to fan after last week he was signed off with stress from the band's world tour and returned to the UK, but a week later Zayn decided enough was enough and has quit the band.
Since his announcement Zayn has said he hadn't been happy for a while in the band and wanted to live a normal life, and has never felt more in control.
I applaud the guy for doing this, although he feels he has let his fans down, as in life you have got to do what is best for you. Clearly, he wasn't happy and the pressures of being in a boyband from such a young age anyway etc, had just got too much.
The fans however are another story....
There have been reports of 'BoyBand BreakUp Syndrome' as psychologists are calling it, where fans experience distress when a band member leaves or a band breaks up completely. Psychologists say fans genuinely suffer, as in the past when Take That split in 1996, there images of fans breaking down in tears however the 1D fans have taken it a bit too far.
In space of nine years since Take That split, they have since reformed and lost members, but also social media has evolved and this is where the fans have taken it too far. Hashtag #cut4zayn has been trending on Twitter. I am not a twitterer, however news of this is disturbing. Fans are cutting themselves with the aim to change Zayn's mind. It is just so wrong. It is promoting what is already such a serious mental issue, into something else, promoting and almost making a joke out of it.
Self harm is a serious issue. It scary and harmful and is damaging both physically and mentally, and may require hospitalisation. The irony is that one of the reasons Zayn left is for the sake of his mental health.
Fans, it will not bring him back to the band, end of, so please don't hurt yourself as he wouldn't want you to (not that I know him because I really don't).
If in serious distress please talk to somebody about your feelings and thoughts.
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