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| Jason Russell [credit] |
Remember this guy? Jason Russell was the
man of the moment in 2012. He was the brainchild behind the “KONY 2012”
internet campaign that took the internet by storm in late 2012. So much so that
the documentary video uploaded to YouTube had been seen over 100 million times
in less than 6 days. (1)
The campaign was designed to make the
Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony “famous” worldwide in an attempt to have the powers
that be arrest him and hold him accountable for the war crimes and crimes
against humanity that the International Criminal Court has indicted him of. (2)
Unfortunately, Jason is much better known
for events that occurred just 10 days after the campaign went viral, where he
basically appeared to undergo a very public meltdown “naked” on the streets of
San Diego; of which footage can be easily accessed online. It transpired later that Jason had suffered from
a Brief Psychotic Disorder; also known as Brief Reactive Psychosis.
Jason himself
acknowledges that he “lost control of his mind and body” and described the
ordeal as an “out of body” experience and puts the experience down to the
intense “mental, emotional and physical” stress he had been under in the build
up to the start of the KONY 2012 campaign. (3) He also is quick to point out
the benefits of the #HELP he received and how it was essential in him being
able to resume a normal life after the event. (3)
Events like this only go to emphasise the
fact that a psychotic episode can happen to anybody, anywhere, anytime; and
it’s essential that people are aware of this fact and are able to acknowledge
the reality and seek the #HELP that they require.
As Jason Russell quotes Victor Hugo at the
onset of the KONY 2012 documentary, “Nothing is more powerful than an idea
whose time has come,” (4) I put it to you that the time has come to speak out
about mental health issues such as psychosis, increase their awareness, break
through the stigma and provide easy access to #HELP for all who need it.
This is the interview of Jason Russell by Oprah Winfrey in her show after Jason's recovery.
References:
(1) Grossman, S. “‘Kony 2012′ Documentary Becomes
Most Viral Video in History”. Time [Internet]. 2012 March 12 [cited 15 March
2015.] Available from: http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/03/12/kony-2012-documentary-becomes-most-viral-video-in-history/
(2) Myers, Julia "A call for justice". Kentucky Kernel
[Internet]. 2012 March 7 [cited 15 March 2015.] Available from: http://kykernel.com/2012/03/07/a-call-for-justice/.
(3) Williams,
M. “Kony 2012 campaigner Jason Russell: 'I wasn't in control of
my mind or body'”. The Guardian [Internet]. 2012 Ocotber 8 [cited 15 March
2015.] Available from: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/oct/08/kony-2012-jason-russell-interview-nbc.
(4) Sweetman, J.E. Kony 2012: Controversial
Messengers. [cited 15 March 2015.] In: Wordpress [Internet] Available from: https://johnsweetman.wordpress.com/kony-2012-controversial-messengers/
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