by Serena H.
There’s a lot of attention on Ariana Grande right now. Specifically, how Mac Miller’s death has impacted her and others. Looking at this from a political perspective may seem odd but, Mac Miller had all the resources fame and fortune could offer but he still struggled with mental illness and substance abuse. Our national policies only partially support individuals with these illnesses but, only if you have insurance. Our education system lacks true conversation and help on understanding these illnesses as well. With the backlash that Ariana is receiving over Mac’s death, she is utilizing her resources to get help so the cycle doesn’t repeat itself.
Mac Miller died at age 26 from a drug overdose that is still not concluded as intentional or accidental. It is common for people suffering from mental illness to turn to drug like alcohol, marijuana among others, to numb the feelings or avoid them all together because they don’t know how to face them. This is where a therapist can be really handy in teaching you to deal with the issue in a manageable way and maybe even provide medications to help. “Among the 20.2 million adults in the U.S. who experienced a substance use disorder, 50.5%—10.2 million adults—had a co-occurring mental illness...” and just over half of adults with mental illness receive treatment. The statistics for teens and children aren’t much better. There’s obviously an issue in how we care for the mentally ill and it starts with policies and education.
From researching, it can be found that in the United States we do offer some health insurance packages that include mental health care, but it is limited similarly to having surgeries. Individuals are limited in the amount of sessions their insurance will pay for, if they have insurance at all or know if it's offered with their plan. Without insurance, visits can cost between $75 and $200. If you don’t have insurance, you may not have a high paying job, only work part-time or something to that effect. If that the case, affording a session can be a stretch financially. This once again puts mental health on the back burner.
When we look at education, we have a core curriculum, at least in Indiana, that requires students to take a health class. If you look at most health books, they cover mental illnesses briefly and the conversation around them isn't very welcoming. “Approximately 1 in 5 youth aged 13–18 (21.4%) experiences a severe mental disorder at some point during their life. For children aged 8–15, the estimate is 13%.” Mental illness needs to be taken more seriously if it is affecting this many kids and they aren’t getting the education about how to handle it or who to go to about it. Help is offered from teachers but it’s hard to take that seriously in high school environments that still struggle to handle bullying, or substance use on/near campus.
Bringing this back to Mac and Ariana, there was/is help available to both of them, though not as limited due to their fame and fortune. It is always tragic when a individual like Mac, that is so influential and loved by many, is lost to illnesses that can be managed. The fans and the media spend a lot of time highlighting this tragedy but then Ariana is treated so poorly. At this rate, Ariana is going to be a victim of a cycle of abuse and mental illness as a result of Mac’s death. The fans are mistreating her and blaming her because she didn’t stay in their relationship and help him. They are tormenting and harassing her so much that she had to disable comments on her Instagram to prevent the issue from continuing. She lost someone even closer to her than the fans and she is suffering so much from the bullying from fans, on top of the grief, it's only facilitating more issues with this tragic affair and doing so much harm to her. No one but the the two of them knew their true relationship and how their mental health was affected by being in it. Mac was unlucky to not seek the treatment he needed when he had the chance. Ariana is lucky to have the ability to get the treatment she needs and be able to afford it all. Mental illnesses affects numerous people. Every individual has the right to care for their own person and we should have policies and education to support this.
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Mac Miller dead at 26 - CNN https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/07/entertainment/mac-miller-dead/index.html
Mental Health By the Numbers | NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness https://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-Health-By-the-Numbers
Mental health and substance abuse health coverage options | HealthCare.gov https://www.healthcare.gov/coverage/mental-health-substance-abuse-coverage/
Ariana Grande Blamed for Ex Mac Miller's Death on Instagram | PEOPLE.com https://people.com/music/ariana-grande-turns-off-instagram-comments-blame-her-mac-miller-death/
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