Health | Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh City Paper: With a goal of breaking stigmas and building understanding and empathy about mental health and wellbeing, the exhibit undertakes the difficult task of “bringing the science of mental health to life." A series of multimedia and interactive displays aim to immerse museum-goers in others’ experiences living with mental health conditions and physically represent what are often considered internal states.
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I decided to comment on this article because I have fond memories of visiting the Carnegie Science Center as a kid. Whenever my family came to Pittsburgh I would beg my parents to take me to the science center, and they usually did due to the educational, creative, and entertainment value that it has. The main audience there were kids and pre-teens, but there were definitely exhibits geared towards adults and older teens. Even right now as a young adult I would have a lot of fun if I visited the science center. I think this mental health exhibit in particular is something that adults and older teens would benefit from, especially with the introspective questions it would coax out. I like that they also tried to include younger kids because mental health is something that should be freely (but age appropriately and within context) discussed with all ages, although I definitely can understand why they would caution that it may not be suited for children under 11.
I am excited about this for a lot of reasons. I am a big advocate for working to destigmatize mental health and I think we have gotten a lot better at it. However, I sometimes feel as if it can get so dark very quickly. I think it is important to highlight the extremes that mental health can lead to but I think if we are not careful it can communicate the idea of someone's mental illness/health not being “bad enough” to be recognized. From what I gathered from this it seems like this is not the case for this display. I like that they made it applicable to everyone meaning their reach is going to be much more impactful for a larger group of people which is awesome. I also think it is interesting that this is being put in a science center. I would imagine it going in some sort of art display or something like that. I think the science center is a good place for it and I think it subconsciously or consciously destigmatizes it simply because it isn't as emotional and more mathematical.
I feel a bit conflicted on this just as i do most things regarding mental health. Specifically by corporations such as this one when they try to destigmatize mental health. Its funny and actually not funny just honestly hypocritical when companies and corporations make an effort to “destigmatize mental health” but then not do anything to actually help people that struggle. Or, uphold a system and culture within their system that worsens mental health. Like yeah, lets bring awareness to something we contribute to but do anything to help the problem! Because right, talking about a problem will make it go away right? Addressing things makes them go away? The funny thing about this articles headline is “combatting the stigma with empathy” um. Shouldnt we combat everything with empathy? Arent we supposed to be empathetic creatures? Interesting. Interesting. I think this installation is cute for kids learning, but i really wouldnt go as far as to say its “combating the mental health stigma” what a load.
Overall, this exhibition has good intentions, and props to that! Props to getting the conversation to surface within a museum, since there is so much unspoken history of mental illness and how our country has treated it over the years. I think the goal to experience living with mental health conditions and physically representing what are often considered internal states is a step in the right direction. Oftentimes when you struggle with mental health conditions, they’re often overlooked since a lot of the time, you can’t put words to how you’re feeling. I think this is an interesting way of trying to break the stigma and get people to be more understanding of other people’s experiences. However, there’s not one definition to most of these things. Also, I wish the museum would utilize some of the profits they’re getting from this exhibit and donate it to organizations that are working to help people seek medical help. A lot of why people struggle so much with mental illness is because they can’t financially seek medical help. It’s a big issue within our country, and I’m glad that the topic is finally something for people to explore, but I think they could have some real impact on individuals through this experience.
It’s always great to see that mental health has been less stigmatized in the modern day. After decades and decades of harsh discrimination and cruelty it’s good to see that there are brighter days ahead. Having an exhibit in a museum is a particularly good idea, museums are known to be great places for learning and people retain the information they get in museums particularly well, it’s also good for young people to learn about mental health so that the next generation has adequate knowledge. Mental health is still such a serious issue that is prevalent for so many adults, it’s important to put it in the limelight especially in times like these where other things are occurring it’s Important to remember certain issues and I think that mental health is one of them
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