The Day That I Snapped tells the stories and struggles of people with mental illness, stress, fatigue, or both. The film captures the moment they decided to snap. This film is about two men and two women. Mike is the male character who works 14 hours per day and doesn’t take his meal breaks to ensure he gets more work done. He is also very tired, stressed, and exhausted. These are all signs and behaviors that could lead to mental illness.
When mike was at work, he began to think that if someone took a break from him then he wouldn’t be working enough. Therefore, he stopped taking the time to do his job and continued to work. He began to feel exhausted at work. Because of this, he started to make more mistakes. As a result, he continued to work harder each day in order to finish the work required and correct any errors he made. Mike struggled to balance work and family life, so he stopped going out with his kids. One day, he felt unwell and decided to change trains to go home. He fell unconscious, then he began to black out. His fellow passengers thought he’d suffered a cardiac arrest. In reality, he was suffering from executive burnout. The home doctor recommended that he take anti-depressants. Unfortunately, his work did not permit this. He returned to work in three weeks. He was unable cope with the sudden return to work and was fired from his job. Mike is experiencing all the signs and symptoms of a mental disorder. He feels overwhelmed by work stress and anxiety. He also has a difficult time balancing his home and his family. As a result, he felt more guilt, stress, and feeling inadequacy. Linda, a young female social worker who was eager to help others, was my next subject. After only eight weeks, she returned to work after being told she needed to take some time off. She had 10 years experience and was still trying to get the hospital out of their hands. After seeing this, she realized that she was unable to do this anymore. Linda also struggled with getting out of bed each morning. She would fight with her husband, children and parents all day for no apparent reason. Linda wished she were dead. Because she had no other option, she was determined that death was the best choice for her. After drinking brandy one night, she attempted suicide with some pills. She then woke up in hospital the next day, furious at not being dead. Linda displays all signs and symptoms of a mental disorder (Real Stories 2017, 2017). She is physically, emotionally, and psychologically exhausted and stressed. After her release from the hospital, her family was so traumatized they kept asking if she was going back. Linda has accepted that she will not be returning to work. Instead, Linda is trying to be a wife and care for her children. She could have avoided all this if she sought help when feeling tired and unwell (Real Stories 2017).
Recognizing Symptoms is the first step in becoming mentally ill. Mike began to notice this. Although he did not want to believe this, he realized that he was becoming increasingly stressed and pushing away his children and wife. When asked by his children to have a chat, he would often snap at them. Mike shows phase 5, rendering account, when he leaves the hospital. His wife summons his family doctor, who explains to him that he is in need of help. He refuses to listen to her and continues pushing the issue off. After some time, he started to feel like he was in phase 6. He did not know if the medication was working. He wanted the pills to stop working, but decided not to. This could be classified as phase 6, because “should mental disorder continue, and the disordered people accounts be rejected,” (Cockerham), 2017. This phase could also be considered as a less severe one. He may not want to take the medicine, but he might still be debating whether or not he’s mentally ill. Linda, another subject I saw in this movie, shows the phases of becoming mental ill.
The most significant phase, recognized symptoms, that I observed right away was phase 2. Linda observes that she can’t perform the required job function she has to with the elderly gentleman in the hospital. Because she thinks her intelligence is no longer there, she leaves her job. Linda and Mike are best suited to the sociological model. This takes into account all aspects of social life, as well as the criteria. Mike’s mental illness is clearly linked to his work environment and his symptoms. Linda has a stressful work environment which causes a lot of stress. The sociological model will best suit these two. This film was great. It showed me how many people suffer from mental illness and the negative effects of not seeking help. I was struck by the film’s final message, which was a powerful one. She said, “Everybody can find their path through” (Real Stories 2017). This message gives hope to everyone and is the takeaway message of the film.
