BASED on research, there are more than 200 classified mental illnesses. The most common are clinical depression, bipolar, dementia and schizophrenia. Symptoms may include changes in mood, personality, habits and or social withdrawal.
Narcissism, if not properly managed is another kind of mental disorder. Narcissism means excessive or erotic interest in oneself and one’s personal appearance. Self-admiration. Kana bang sobrang ka in love o bilib sa sarili.
Anxiety and panic attacks. Anxiety is a normal emotion that we all experience. Obsessive compulsive disorder, depression, personality disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and even eating disorders. These, aside from those people who became mentally derange or insane because of drug addiction.
Then there is that German term “schadenfreude,” which means those people who laugh at the misfortunes and failures of others, especially their enemies. Kung sa title pa sa drama sa radyo; “Gikalipay ko ang mga kasakit mo.” Kanang pagka-luoran, laing sakit pod na. Each one of us has a mental illness but depending on what degree.
Just recently, Joey de Leon, one of the veteran hosts of the long-time running noontime show Eat Bulaga, was forced to apologize after being bashed by netizens when he joked about depression. “Yang depression, stress lang yan at gawa-gawa lang yan,” Joey said, not knowing how serious the mental condition of the person who is suffering from it which sometimes results in suicide.
But you know, some experts said that too much or frequent selfies is a sign of mental illness? What initially started as a fun act of capturing a picture of oneself without the use of photographer has now become a behavior that can lead to addiction, narcissism and even suicide for some. If you are posting more than three selfies a day on social media, you may have a serious problem, some experts say.
The American Psychiatric Association speaks of “this obsessive compulsive desire to take a photo of one’s self and post them on social media as a way to make up for the lack of self-esteem and to fill the gap of intimacy” and has categorized it into three levels; borderline (three selfies a day), acute (posting at least three selfies a day) and chronic (posting up to six or more times a day).
In an article, Dr. Pamela Rutledge says “that taking selfie can be detrimental to a person’s mental health and that indulging in them is indicative of narcissism, low esteem, attention seeking behavior and self-indulgence.”
However, some experts say that the reasons for narcissism, depression, obsession or other mental health issues are not really the selfies themselves but rather the selfies are the trigger for underlying issues.