The Shadow world and Mental Health. Alec Lightwood.
Warning this contains a discussion about self-harm and attempted suicide.
So this is a continuation of the posts about Alec and his Mother Maryse lightwood, they have quite a rocky relationship and it is difficult to see this and how it affects him as it really does affect him quite badly at times. However with her progression into a really well-adjusted human she can face the consequences of her actions and admit that she has been wrong in the past, it is one of the hardest things for a person to do. So this will focus on the relationship development in season 3 as it is where they have the strongest relationship in the show and can heal from the wounds they gave each other to become successful adults, whether in the mundane world or in the Shadow world.
In researching the posts focusing on Maryse I now realize that it's really that it's a combination of both the world and the situations that they are put into as we see that Mary was trying to protect her children and razing them to be able to survive the harsh reality of the Shadow World. We see this when they are talking about something called heavenly fire. What turns out to be an off-the-books clave program, that is experimenting on world prisoners at the clave prison facility. With serum made from a shard of an angelic blade, the blade is the one that Michel was able to separate himself from Lucifer with, as we see Jace say to Clary about studying Paradise lost.
(1) Shadowhunters Season 3, Episode 13 | The Lightwoods Uncover A Conspiracy | Freeform - YouTube
We see that Maryse has drilled situational awareness into her children something that Clary is lacking and I can understand why Alec in the first and second seasons is so annoyed by her actions.
The line that resonated with me is " You want us to turn a blind eye, you didn't raise us like that" and Maryse responds " I raised you to survive," But survival isn't the same as thriving and we see that both Izzy and Alec are struggling with their own trauma but living well despite it.
We discover that they are experimenting on world prisoners and that Izzy wants to get to the bottom of this this show that Maryse does care for her children and wants to see them thrive. In watching most of the clips I started to realize that Alec, Izzy, and Jace seem to come as a package deal. Like when people get married we see that you marry the whole family.
So it is a very different world that they live in and they live with the reality that through no fault of their own they could die at any time because of demons. This is where Mary was right in wanting to protect her family and be harsh on them so they could survive in this world. Yet it came at a cost to their mental health. In Alec's case, it is his self-esteem and we discover that he is just going through the motions yet has very little that brings him enjoyment in his life.
As we see at Max's rune party when they are under a spell cast by the warlock Iris Rose that it brings out their worst fears and Alec's worst fear is that Clary blames him for killing her mother when he was possessed by a demon. Yet we see that Clary has great compassion for him and tells him this after he attempts to jump off Magnus's ledge. that this becomes Maryse's wake-up call to pay attention to the emotional health of her children as the Shadowhunters are trained "That emotion is nothing but a distraction and that they are taught to control them." when he is first getting used to Clary being in his world. We also see that Clary can see right through this masking as she replies well how is that working out for you. As it isn't working out well for Alec as he is struggling with a great amount of repression and anger about Jace bringing Clary into this world without considering the risks that are involved with it.
Things that we see that the Shadowhunters do have in place are generally unhealthy when placed in context is when we do see when Alec is struggling with a large amount of guilt he "escapes to Magnus's place, and is leaning against the fire escape. Living in a large community can be a good and a bad thing but the community is important and is connected to a community, in reality, is critical for good mental health. However, it needs to be on the person's own terms, and this can be a daily struggle for people struggling with their mental health. Pushing them can have either a positive or negative effect but building a relationship takes time and effort and we see that Alec is all for effort👀 in relationships.
(1) Shadowhunters 2x08 - Alec nearly kills himself - YouTube
The Shadow hunters do seem to be aware of mental health issues, yet we do see that it's more an institutional program rather than a community based on depending on the severity of the issue, as we do see Alec support Jace is going to the Silent brother's for treatment when he is brought back from the dead and this opens him up to possession from Lilith ( I can do a lot on Lilith and when I have finished the other drafts I will start doing something on the Demons of this world).
We do see that the show does discuss the topics of mental health quite openly in the second and third seasons. However now I would like to discuss the reality of what the consequences of being institutionalized can mean for someone, it could mean that decisions are made for them that they are forced to keep to a routine " For their own good," they aren't allowed to see family and friends or only allowed to see them at certain times of the day or having to be completely separated from them to be able to work on their own issues. Yet we now know that the social model in some cases can work a lot better for people yet some people do need this specialist support as they are a risk to themselves or the community. As well as being forced to take medications against their own will a class of medications that are commonly used is called chemical restraints. That has been considered kinder than. What is called restrictive practices is, in reality, the use of physical restraint's to prevent self-harm. However, I do know that there is a growing trend to move away from these practices. In using more positive practices like positive behavior support plans, or divisional therapy. That rewards positive behavior, yet there is the argument that this reinforces the infantilization of the mentally ill or those with disabilities and it could hinder them in self-efficacy.
As well as moving to a concept for those with the mental capacity to understand it called dignity of risk. That moves away from the thinking that people with a disability or mental illness can't make decisions for themselves to saying to the person this is all of the information that you need to make this decision and we will support you in what you decide. It also is a more flexible environment as it gives people with disabilities "teachable moments," as well as the right to fail as we as humans learn more from failure than from success.
Yet we do need to be aware that there is a subclass of people who don't respond to medications designed to treat mental health conditions, yet we are seeing that we as a society need to treat not just the symptoms but the roots of the conditions. So getting back to basics like diet, lifestyle, and having connections to the community. As well as a growing understanding of the importance of having a purpose in life, as I have written about in a very early post about Magnus losing his purpose and self-identity so he starts turning to drink to escape his reality that he is mundane.
(I am working on a Patreon post about Magnus and the social contract as Magnus and his drinking when he was a child the water in the dutch east indies wouldn't have been safe to drink so they would have drunk beer or milk ) This post is up on my sight.
Reading for this post
Deinstitutionalization - Wikipedia
Emotions are nothing but a distraction. You're ruled by them. - TV Fanatic
Situation awareness - Wikipedia
Pharmacotherapy of mental illness--a historical analysis - PubMed (nih.gov)
Unethical Experimentation On the Mentally Ill/Disabled Research Paper (studentshare.org)
"Prisons Without Bars" – Forced Institutionalization of People with Disabilities - Mad In America
Diversional & Recreation Therapy Australia (DRTA) (diversionaltherapy.org.au)
The dignity of risk - Wikipedia
Independent living - Wikipedia
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