BUG THERAPY Uses Clever Humor to Break the Stigma Around Mental Health
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), 56% of adults with a mental illness do not receive treatment. Many people don’t get help because they have limited access to affordable, convenient mental health resources. Other people may not get help because of shame, fear, and the stigma around mental health.
You can count a young lady named Citronella among those who fear getting help. Except, we wouldn’t actually count Citronella among the 50 million Americans experiencing a mental illness. Citronella is a fictional character — a mosquito, to be exact — in the short film Bug Therapy. She’s a mosquito that happens to faint at the sight of blood, quite the occupational hazard for a bug that subsists off blood. Yet, Citronella can’t seem to work up the courage to get help for her phobia.
BUG THERAPY is a nine-minute film that boasts a star-studded cast, including Meghan Trainor as Citronella and Dr. Phil McGraw as group therapy leader, Dr. Pill. Other cast members include Sterling K. Brown, Tom Green, and Jay Leno. The film shares an important message about the importance of getting help for mental illnesses. The story is written by an Emmy-nominated late-night comedy writer Michael Jann and his writing partner and wife, Michele Jourdan.
A lot of people who write about mental illness have usually been impacted by it, either through their own struggles or those of someone they love, as is the case for this charming couple. Within minutes of meeting the pair, I was sharing my journey of lifelong anxiety and major depressive disorder as a young adult, and they were telling me the meaningful story behind BUG THERAPY.
Michael and Michele explained that the concept of a mosquito fainting at the sight of blood was initially an idea for a feature film. They floated the concept by a bunch of film execs, who all had the same response: “Funny, but what else?” They decided to turn the concept into a short film about the mosquito trying to enter group therapy for her phobia. As big proponents of therapy, the couple thought the plot was a natural fit for the concept with a great message. That message turned into a heart-wrenching mission when, in the midst of making the film, their 27-year-old son had a serious mental health breakdown.
Thankfully, their son survived and is now in remission after going through life-saving treatments. With that terrifying experience on their hearts, the couple felt even more compelled to spread the message that getting help is not shameful. The film is powerful because it seamlessly instills humor and lightness into a heavy topic and makes getting help more relatable.
Like many people suffering from mental illness, Citronella recognizes she isn’t living life to the fullest, but she feels too embarrassed to admit it.
“I’m fine, I don’t have a problem,” she buzzes.
Sound familiar? Most people who suffer try to convince themselves and others that they’re fine. With 1 in 5 people having a diagnosable mental health condition in any given year, you’ve most likely been part of an internal battle in getting help. You were either an innocent bystander (you tried to help someone) or a willing participant (you were the one refusing help).
Citronella takes the important first step of showing up to group therapy. Ask anyone who’s been to therapy, half the battle is simply showing up. The other half is deciding to partake, as our main character quickly realizes. The affable Dr. Pill leads a group of bugs with debilitating mental health conditions that are oddly fitting to their species (i.e, a stick bug that feels invisible). She stands outside the group, hemming and hawing over whether she should join.
Dr. Pill encourages Citronella to share her story and tells her, “It’s OK to not be OK. This group is about acceptance.”
It’s not until Citronella faces a frightening situation that she decides it’s finally time to join group therapy. Again, this is a familiar scene — people often wait until things get really bad before they actually get help. BUG THERAPY nails the message that it’s okay to get help for your mental illness, and you don’t need to wait until things are bad.
The film has become a bit of a manifesto for organizations like NAMI that work to eliminate the stigma around mental illness. And the duo have been just the right people to share the message with their natural storytelling abilities and infectious energy. In fact, they are speaking at NAMI’s Annual Conference this year and have previously been keynote speakers at other NAMI conferences.
As a fellow mental health advocate, I was truly honored to meet the couple and get a sneak peek at the film. May is Mental Health Month, and throughout the month, the film will be available for anyone to watch. I encourage you to take the nine minutes to watch it. Even if you’re someone like me, who believes in the power of therapy, it serves as an important reminder that the stigma around mental illness is preventing millions from getting treatment. If we had more films that tackled these tough topics with humor and wit, maybe we could bring that number down.
Let’s normalize asking for help. No matter who you are or what you’re dealing with, no human (or bug!) should go it alone. Subscribe on YouTube to watch the film when it becomes available: BUG THERAPY Short Film — YouTube and learn more on the website.
