Welcome to Consider Yourself Hugged! Click below to watch or Click here to listen to Episode 199.
*Disclaimer:
Today we will discuss topics that may be triggering to you, including suicide. So please take good care and reach out for help if you are struggling!!
The information in this show is not intended to be therapy or to address your individual situation. It is information based on experiences, opinions, and research. If you need further help, please reach out to one of the resources at the end of the show notes, or others in your area.
Welcome back to Consider Yourself Hugged!
Meanwhile, Michelle was dealing with flight delays and long bus rides at a conference in Disney. Our separate but chaotic travels had us bonded in exhaustion before this recording even started.
But let’s be real—The Bell Jar is not a light book. It’s a raw and deeply personal account of mental illness, so while we’ll bring in our usual relatability, this episode will be honest, deep, and unfiltered—just like Sylvia Plath’s writing.
📖Key Themes & Takeaways
1. The Bell Jar Metaphor – Feeling Trapped in Your Own Mind
“To the person in the bell jar, blank and stopped as a dead baby, the world itself is a bad dream.”
Throughout the novel, Esther Greenwood describes her depression as being trapped under a bell jar—isolated, suffocated, and watching life pass by without being able to participate.
💡 Why This Still Resonates Today:
Many people with depression describe feeling disconnected from reality, as if they’re looking at the world through a filter.
The metaphor captures the stagnation and helplessness that comes with deep depression.
While mental health treatment has improved, stigma and misunderstandings still exist—just as they did in Esther’s time.
"It wasn’t that Esther didn’t want to get better—she just didn’t know how to. And that’s still a reality for so many people today."
2. The Fig Tree Metaphor – Fear of Making the Wrong Choice
“I saw my life branching out before me like the green fig tree in the story… I saw myself sitting in the crotch of this fig tree, starving to death, just because I couldn’t make up my mind which of the figs I would choose.”
This is one of the most famous passages in the book. Esther envisions her future as a fig tree full of different possibilities—each fig representing a potential path (career, marriage, adventure). But instead of choosing one, she freezes, afraid of making the wrong choice, until they all wither and fall.
📝 Reflection Question:
Have you ever been so afraid of making the wrong decision that you ended up making none at all?
3. Mental Health Treatment: Then vs. Now
One of the hardest scenes in The Bell Jar is Esther’s electroshock therapy, which was administered in a way that left her traumatized.
“I shut my eyes. There was a brief silence, like an indrawn breath. Then something bent down and took hold of me and shook me like the end of the world.”
💡 Then vs. Now:
1950s: Harsh electroshock therapy, institutionalization, and little understanding of mental illness.
Today: More compassionate approaches, therapy, medication, and mental health awareness.
📞 Mental Health Resources:
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (U.S.) – Free, 24/7 support
Find help worldwide: befrienders.org
Online Therapy: BetterHelp, TalkSpace, NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness)
💬 Let’s Keep the Conversation Going!
📢 Join the discussion in our Facebook group!
Have you ever felt like you were under a “bell jar”?
What’s a book, quote, or song that helps you when you’re feeling stuck?
If you could go back in time, what advice would you give your younger self about mental health?
💙 Final Thoughts & Encouragement
✔️ You are not alone.
✔️ You are not broken.
✔️ Even when life feels overwhelming, help is out there.
If this episode resonated with you, please share it with a friend, leave a review, and keep the conversation going.
Until next time… Consider yourself hugged. 💙
📚 Book Link:📘 The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath – Amazon
💬 Join the Conversation!
🔥 Have you experienced mental health challenges? What helped you recover? Share your thoughts in our Facebook Group or comment on YouTube!
📌 Subscribe, Review, Share & Stay Connected
🙌 If this episode helped you, send it to someone who might need it too! 💙
Follow Us:
🔗 Website: www.tamiwest.com
📘 Private Facebook Group for Women! Consider Yourself Hugged Community
📺 YouTube: Check out our video episodes!
👥 Want to join us on a retreat? Let us know in the comments!
As we've always asked in the past, please pass the show link along to your friends and subscribe, download, and review wherever you are listening. If you’re a woman and you haven’t joined our private FB group A Place for Women, please do that now! It’ll be your source of encouragement. I'd love for you to follow my Tami West Seminars Facebook page as well. If you'd like to know more about my Mental Health First Aid Courses, contact me at 615-497-7714 or tamiwest@tamiwest.com.
And next time, Consider Yourself Hugged 😘🤗
Mental Health Resources:
Michelle Kixmiller, MSN, MAE, RN, APN, PMHNP-BC
Michelle Kixmiller is a Board Certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner and Licensed Educator. She works with children and adults with mental health needs including depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, ADHD, autism, schizophrenia, and obsessive compulsive disorder. Michelle served as a public school teacher and science department chair for over a decade when a family tragedy pulled her in a different direction. The death of her younger brother after a multiple year battle with depression and alcoholism led her to pursue a career in the mental health field. She went back to school to become a registered nurse graduating and gaining experience as a critical care nurse at a level 1 regional burn center prior to completing a graduate degree to become a mental health nurse practitioner. Her vision is holistic care through teamwork to create a more peaceful school environment for students and staff alike. No one should have to struggle alone. Michelle currently works full time for a non-profit community mental health center at an outpatient clinic and works PRN for an inpatient crisis stabilization unit. When not at work she loves spending time with family, traveling, watching movies (not scary ones), running (slowly), and Crossfit. Contact Michelle at Silver Lining Psychiatric Solutions, 615-378-7713 or mkixmill@gmail.com.
Tami West, PhD
Stress and Mental Health Expert Dr. Tami West uses her entertaining and compelling style to shine a new light on how to transform your life and discover solutions to life’s challenges.
Tami has worked in a variety of industries including healthcare, school nutrition, corporate sales, and 10 years as a public-school teacher. In 2013 she received her PhD in Human Development, studying the connections among stress, emotions, and identity.
Dr. West has spoken in 48 states across the US, as well as the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. In any given year, Tami speaks to groups with audiences consisting of anywhere from 100 to 3,000 people.
Dr. West is the author of several successful publications including three books: The Stress Club, Life Without the Monsters and Thrive. When she's not speaking or writing, you might find her with her traveling with her husband and family, reading historical fiction, or watching Big Bang Theory.
Tami connects with audiences through real experience, cutting edge research, and transparent stories – all sprinkled with humor! She will make you laugh, cry, and shine a refreshingly new light on life's challenges.
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Contact Tami at tamiwest@tamiwest.com
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