Happiness Depends on Mental Health

Imagine yourself dead without dying. Sounds crazy, right? In Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller through his choice of title, ironically tells the reader the salesman dies. Death of a Salesman is a play that is centered around an older respected salesman name Willy Loman and his family. Like any man, Mr. Loman wants to have the best for his family, he wants them to experience the American Dream. The American Dream is believed to be achieved by one working hard throughout life.

Willy’s life comes to a sudden stop when he is laid off from his long-respected position as a salesman. The death of his career slowly starts to ruin him. The obsession of achieving and maintain the American Dream enhances mental issues like psychotic episodes, depression and even death if left untreated. In this essay I will be explaining how psychotic episode, depression and suicidal thoughts coms into play.

Psychosis is when a person has sensory experiences of things that does not exist and beliefs with no basis in reality. During a psychotic episode, an individual may experience hallucination and or delusions. Willy Loman suffered from a mental disorder referred to as bipolar disorder with psychotic features while trying to achieve the American dream, this disorder goes unnoticed until it ultimately leads to his own down fall in society which caused the American Nightmare. Many things can lead to psychosis, including genetics, trauma, substance use, physical sickness and injury. During an episode of psychosis, the brain is in a state of stress overload. There are multiple of reason that can lead to stress such as poor physical health, loss, trauma and major life changes. Willy was faced with the loss of his job due to his old friend son firing him, which caused him to stress because he had finances to take care of. Theoretical ideas show that unemployment and health problems are crossed in an on-going process which deteriorates health and is accelerated by stress. Life events particularly negative ones lead to an increased risk of psychiatric disorder, remarkably depression.

The literature connecting job loss to symptoms of depression is extensive. It includes cross-sectional studies that uniformly report higher levels of depression among those who want to work but are not working. Depression is a communal and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel, the way you think and how you act. In death of a salesman Willy experience a great deal of depression, not only due to the loss of a job but also having a strained relationship with his sons. Studies indicate that major depression worries nearly a fifth of the U.S. population at some point in their lives, and the numbers continue to rise. For the past several decades, each successive generation has reported more depressive disorders than the previous for depression has grown explosively in recent years. the psychiatric definition of depressive disorder to encompass normal human sadness. Signs such as depressed mood, loss of interest in usual activities, and insomnia might naturally occur for a period of time following any of a wide range of negative events, from a romantic betrayal or loss of a job to a death in the family. Suicidal thoughts are common, and many people experience them when they are undergoing stress or experiencing depression. In most cases, these are temporary and can be treated, but in some cases, they place the individual at risk for attempting or completing suicide.

Willy lived his life thinking he had thousands of friends all over the New England area and that he would be known anywhere he would go. He starts bragging this to his sons and they think he is the greatest man on Earth. He raises his two sons, Biff and Happy to be well-liked. Willy gave his son Biff many advices about the work world. Willy comes to the realization about his vision that he is not the utmost salesman but does not understand why Biff is not efficacious with his advice. He still holds hope about success for Biff. Perhaps it is the illusion of a continuous present the essential condition of childhood that Willy finally cannot live without. Unable to bear the disparity between his dreams and the life he has shaped through his decisions and actions, Willy lives almost entirely within his imagination, where disappointment and loss are impossible because nothing is irreversible. Impacts like unemployment and a lack of social support are obvious contributors; redundancy alone is thought to cause 45,000 global suicides annually.

In conclusion, psychotic episodes, depression and suicidal attempts or thoughts are major factors contributing to having an American nightmare. While many people love to have the finer things in life, one’s mental health should be a top priority. Mr. Loman death at the end of death of a salesman could have been prevented if he had the proper help and resources. In most cases of mental issues, the affected shows symptoms of illness. While Mrs. Loman knew her husband was going through difficult times, she did provide him with the professional help he needed because of her lack knowledge. In today society, people have multiple resources to educate them on the signs of mental health. There are various treatments like antipsychotic drugs and antidepressants such as Serotonin and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors which are used to treat major depression, mood disorders and ADHD.

Work Cited

1. Beach, J. M. “The Ideology of the American Dream: Two Competing Philosophies in Education, 1776-2006.” Educational Studies, vol. 41, no. 2, Apr. 2007, pp. 148–164. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/00131940701312488.
2. Catalano, Ralph, et al. “Job Loss and Major Depression among Mexican Americans.” Social Science Quarterly (University of Texas Press), vol. 81, no. 1, Mar. 2000, pp. 477–487. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=slh&AN=2923993&site=eds-live&scope=site.
3. Jesmin, U. H. Ruhina, [email protected]. “Narcissistic Personality in Arthur Miller’s ‘Death of a Salesman’ and Saul Bellow’s ‘Seize the Day’: A Comparative Study.” Journal of Comparative Studies / Komparatovistikas Almanahs, no. 11, Jan. 2018, pp. 62–79. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hus&AN=134567758&site=eds live&scope=site.
4. Lee, Sang, et al. “The Association between Loss of Work Ability and Depression: A Focus on Employment Status.” International Archives of Occupational & Environmental Health, vol. 90, no. 1, Jan. 2017, pp. 109–116. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1007/s00420-016-1178-7.

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