There's a television series on ShoTime called the United States of Tara. In this show, the mom, Tara has a psychological disorder of multiple personalities. Why would a TV show highlight a psychological disorder? Her disorder along with many others is further explained in chapter 15 of the textbook. The chapter talks about mental illnesses through the ages. In the past, mental illnesses were looked down upon. Now with psychology, they are better understood and more commonly seen; perhaps the reason behind having a show that sheds light on the topic is because it is more known now.
While reading the chapter, students can look forward to learning about psychiatric diagnoses throughout the world, such as the belief their reproductive organs are disappearing or a social anxiety of offending others. However, these different diagnoses aren't contained to one part of the world. A person cannot place the disorder into a certain group, a common misconception. The chapter also elaborates on other diseases such as the most severe mental illness, Schizophrenia, or the "split mind". I was fascinated by the amount of information known about these diseases that once baffled our minds. This chapter helps explain the mental illnesses we see and hear about every day, in the news, in our community, and in primetime television series.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zlBBkKyM_g - The link for the United States of Tara theme song. The theme song shows Tara's different personalities, including Tara, T, and Alice.)
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