A Korean drama managed to leave me in amazement and helped me get a better understanding of mental health. Daily Dose of Sunshine is a drama focusing on the world of mental illness and the struggle they are facing. I never thought that a drama set in a mental hospital would be so enjoyable that it drains emotions every episode. There are subtle romance in the story, but enough to excite and satisfy romance genre lovers. This drama is adapted from the webtoon Nurse Sheena's Asylum Diary with a total of 3 seasons or 200 episodes, which was first published in 2017 and ended in 2023.
The main story of Daily Dose of Sunshine focuses on nurses in mental health clinics who deal with patients who have different mental illnesses. The main character in this drama is Jung Da Eun (Park Bo-Young), a female nurse who has just moved to the mental health division. Da Eun previously worked in the internal medicine department, starting a new journey at the mental health clinic at Myungshin University hospital.
Da Eun experienced quite severe culture shock because the patients she treated were very different from the patients she had met so far. This drama focuses on the sacrifices of nurses who try to heal the emotional wounds of patients in a neuropsychiatric ward.
Jung Da Eun tries to face the challenges she gets. Even though it is difficult, Da Eun always puts the interests of her patients first. However, Da Eun's nature and attitude which is too kind and obedient sometimes causes problems. Da Eun is also too emotionally attached to her patients. Whatever happens to her patient, Da Eun tries to understand and feel what her patient is experiencing. She is determined to be a friend that could help her patients feel comfortable.
This drama provides new insight in each episode that there are many symptoms that can be called mental illness. This includes more than anxiety, depression, PTSD, and so on. This drama also discusses issues that are still considered sensitive by society. Especially in Indonesia, mental illness is often considered trivial and not even considered as a disease. Even though mental health is very important for everyone to carry out daily life and even survival.
This drama teaches that everyone can be affected by mental illness, whoever and whatever their job. In this drama, rich people, company officials, and even a nurse in a mental health ward can experience mental illness. If you are sick, seeking treatment is the right decision. Seek help and don't take what you feel as trivial, the nurses and doctors will try their best to help you.
