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[lookninjas]

This is not an exact quote, but:

"If you had a student come in with diabetes, would you give them insulin or would you tell them that was just how they were born?"

Dear whoever wrote this episode:

Thank you for that.

(Okay, fandom, start freaking out about the preview for next episode now.)

Comments

[heddychaa]

p. sure teachers aren't allowed to prescribe medication tho

[lookninjas]

No, but it's the metaphor. I appreciate the metaphor. That, you know, refusing meds for a chemical imbalance in the brain is not that dissimilar from refusing meds for a chemical imbalance elsewhere in the body.

(Also, IIRC, students aren't allowed to have meds or needles in most schools, and if McKinley still doesn't have a nurse, it wouldn't be that out of bounds to have Emma be the person who holds medication for students who need it.)

[heddychaa]

haha idk, I'm just shitting you, haven't seen tonight's ep yet

mind you, Glee totally fucking doesn't care about the ways high schools actually run in general, so nitpicking this is kind of pointless lol

[lookninjas]

To be fair, that's probably a very strange post out-of-context. "Will's giving insulin to students? What? What the fuck is this school doing?"

Hopefully without giving too much away (if you care; I don't actually know if you do or not), though, I have to say that Glee is kind of blowing my mind with the way they're handling mental illness right now. It's not perfect, not in the least little bit, but in a world where A Beautiful Mind is fucking acclaimed and celebrated, it's bizarre to see someone come this close to getting it right. Bizarre and kind of beautiful.

[satora_chan]

The therapy scene legit made me cry. Because I've started getting help with my issues via therapy, but seeing it on television, seeing mental illness acknowledged, seeing someone say, "It'll get better."

Like, fuck.

I'M CRYING NOW.

EMMA, I LOVE YOU FOREVER.

[lookninjas]

I really thought she was going to throw those SSRIs away, because she has been in so much denial this season. I actually cheered when she took that pill.

(Haters to the left; SSRIs might not have saved my life, but I question how worthwhile living would be if I hadn't gone on them. I realize that, with any med, you weigh the side effects against the tangible benefits, and not everyone is going to find that the good outweighs the bad. But there is NOTHING WRONG with taking a medication that relieves your symptoms if the side effects are manageable, and I hate this idea that psychiatric meds = medicating the pain away. Fuck that noise.)

Therapy is a brutal business (at least it was for me), but if you can keep going and keep being honest, it is a wonderful, wonderful tool for learning how to cope. And yeah, it really does get better, bb. It really, really does.

[satora_chan]

I was worried about that, too. (And then I was worried she was going to pour the entire bottle in her hand and take all of them at once XD ) Probably wouldn't have dug very well with the storyline (I mean, even Karofsky and Santana addressed (or, er, were forced to address) their own issues.)

TBH, I'm really curious what Sue's issue would have been (not that she'd ever participate in such a number, but, y'know, off to the side, writing a single word in her journal).

Have you ever seen Next to Normal? I always thought how they handled therapy and medication really interesting.

[lookninjas]

I haven't seen that, no. TBH, I tend to shy away from media that deals with mental illness a lot of the time, because I'm kind of exceptionally jaded about it. Is it good, though? Or at least not awful?

[sour_idealist]

Your thoughts are my thoughts. I was almost certain that that scene was going to make me absolutely furious and then... whoa... that is actually really validating. Wow.

(Some people on Tumblr are all furious about the episode sending the message that meds are bad and I am incredibly confused.)

[lookninjas]

... that is very confusing. SHE TOOK THE PILL. I know we didn't see her immediately skipping through a field of daisies and puppies and rainbows (not that I'd necessarily want to, because that's not a great thing to show either), but she took the damn pill, and she's coming to terms with her diagnosis. How is that anti-med?

[sour_idealist]

Yeah, and they specifically shot down a lot of the more common anti-medicine myths. Particularly calling out the "don't take psychiatric meds, they're just a way to brainwash you out of being yourself!" BS, which, frankly, is not a speech that I expected to see in a Be-Yourself episode of Glee, of all the pleasant surprises.

I did say "Er, what?" so hopefully I'll find out where they were coming from.

[lookninjas]

which, frankly, is not a speech that I expected to see in a Be-Yourself episode of Glee, of all the pleasant surprises

I know! I'm so used to feeling like I have to constantly explain to people that no, actually, depression is NOT who I am and anxiety is NOT who I am and I'm not shutting off my feelings (although if that had been the only option, there were points where I would have taken it, just because) that to see that point reinforced on Glee just blew my mind. It's honestly almost word-for-word how I would have written it, diabetes metaphor and all. I'm so stunned.

(I actually tweeted Brad to thank him. Well, I think I tweeted him. I'm not entirely sure how the twitter works. But I think that's what I did.)

[lookninjas]

It is always okay to just drop in and comment. If it's unlocked, it's open season. And over-sharing is what I live for, so that's perfectly fine as well.

What's sad is that if they hadn't gone the way they had with that scene, I probably wouldn't have been disappointed, just because I wasn't expecting them to flat-out say "No, this isn't you. Yes, it's okay to get help. No, meds won't change who you are. Yes, they will hopefully give you some relief from symptoms." It was everything I ever wanted a show to say about mental illness, and then suddenly Glee is doing it, and I just can't.

It's the morning after and I'm still getting teary over this. Seriously, I don't even know if they knew, but this is going to help so many people.

[alter_alterego]

Can I also just piggyback onto your post to throw another shout out to the line about how Emma's illness is not who she is; it's keeping her from who she is meant to be?

It's Glee. Of course the life-lessons imparted in this show have the tendency to take on a decidedly after-school special feel. But damn if there aren't some moments in there that ring so very true.