Mental illness is a serious social problem today, and has been for a long time. People with mental illness often end up hurting other people mentally and physically. When a person suffers from a mental illness, they may also end up harming or causing themselves suffering. Additionally, it is sometimes difficult for them to understand things clearly and they may be unsure about certain things in their life. All of these problems manifest themselves in a person suffering from mental illness. Macbeth hears his prophecy from three witches which triggers his mental illness, while Lady Macbeth pressures him to kill the king. After Macbeth kills the king, things begin to spiral out of control; Macbeth becomes too ambitious and wants to kill more people, whatever it takes. Lady Macbeth asks to have her femininity taken away from her so she won't feel guilty, but ends up feeling more guilty than ever. Subsequently, she commits suicide to escape the guilt and causes great pain to her husband. These and many other tragic examples show that mental illness is a societal problem, and this is reflected throughout the story of Macbeth. With mental illness, people can easily hurt other people, whether intentionally or unintentionally. In Macbeth, Lady Macbeth drives Macbeth crazy and somehow makes him lose his mind. Macbeth says on page 40… “Please STOP!” I only dare to do what is right for a man. He who dares to do more is not a man at all. This shows that Macbeth is begging his wife to stop pressuring him to do things he doesn't want to do and to stop pressuring him to hurt anyone. Macbeth then kills the king and says… “I have done the deed” (page 83). When he says this, he becomes ashamed of what he was made to do and begins to show signs of mental illness. Also, Macbeth... middle of paper ... killing the king, who trusted him, and hiring someone to kill his best friend lest his children take the throne. Lady Macbeth cannot bear the mental pressure of illness and guilt, and ends up harming herself by committing suicide. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth see and think things that don't really exist. Macbeth has hallucinations of his dead best friend and bloody daggers floating in the air. Lady Macbeth, however, thinks that there is still blood on her hands that will never go away. As you can see from my many examples, mental illness is a serious societal problem and can have negative effects in multiple ways. In my opinion, a person with a mental illness is still human and just needs help or someone to talk to when they are depressed. Mental illness does not always cause someone to harm others or themselves, but it often happens.