Are Mental Disorders Biological Or Environmental?

As defined by experts, a mental illness is a clinically significant behavioral or psychological syndrome or pattern that occurs in an individual and involves changes in thinking, emotion, behavior, interpersonal interactions, daily functioning, or a combination. The causes of mental illness are complex and vary depending on the theories associated to the different biological, psychological, and environmental factors. The etiology of mental illness is based on five broad models: biological, psychological, behavioral, cognitive, and social.

Mental illness in itself is a problem, however as humans we have not discovered a way to reverse or remove it. Although researchers have been able to establish common patterns in those who are diagnosed with mood disorders, we do not have any objective information at all. Researchers claim that it can be a combination of our genetics and brain chemistry. (MedWeb, 2015) Despite this gray area, we have discovered a way to suppress the symptoms of mental illness, however many of our children are paying for this at a high

Mental health problems such as depression and anxiety have been attributed to several factors such as excessive stress, genetic predisposition, biochemical imbalances, and even sociocultural status. As with other diseases, mental illnesses are often manifested through a combination of physical as well as emotional symptoms.

“A mental disorder (mental illness) is a psychological pattern that is generally associated with a defect or disease of the individual’s mind. It causes a disability that may affect an individual’s behavior patterns in ways that are not part of one’s normal development or culture. Mental disorders are common in the United States. Within any given year, nearly 25 percent of adults and slightly over 20 percent of children are diagnosable for one or more mental disorders. While mental disorder appears to be widespread among the population, the main burden (or threat) emanates from about 6 percent of those who suffer from a debilitating mental illness.” (National Institute of Mental Health, 2011)

This report goes over the issues in the field of psychology. Psychology is the scientific study of the human mind and behavior. Many issues in Psychology can go in hand with Mental illness which affects a large amount of the world population, young and old. Mental Illness is a variety of conditions that affect, mood , behavior and mental process. These mental illness can be depression, ADHD and more. I then further explored how children being medicated for mental problems is an issue due to the lasting effects and alternative treatments. I also began further exploring mental Illnesses in the African American community, this is an issue because that racial group receives the least care and resources in mental health. Lastly, the overall use

The general public increasingly attributes mental disorders to biological causes such as a chemical imbalance or inherited genes (Schnittker, 2008; Schomerus et al., 2012).

Today, mental disorders are ubiquitous and can be highly detrimental to a person’s physical and emotional well-being. Many individuals who struggle with mental disorders share a background of traumatic events as well as a genetic transfer from another relative. For instance, victims of sexual assault can become very ill in terms of their mental stability. Likewise, environmental causes play a vital role in a person’s psychological patterns. According to the American Psychological Association, too much emphasis is put on the study of mental illness rather than the brain itself.

    There are many disorders that people carry around their lives with them. Depression is a disorder in which a person is persistently in a upset mood and loses all interest in activities that they had once enjoyed. According to statistics, over 300 million people have been diagnosed with having depression. Bipolar depression is another common disorder. A person who has been diagnosed with depression has constant mood swings that range from depression low to manic high. Statistics show that 5.7 million carry this disorder and that it can be a genetic based disorder. Another disorder is Schizophrenia and it is not as common as other disorders, it can still occur. Some children have been diagnosed with Schizophrenia. This disorder affects the thoughts, feelings and behaviors of a person. 3.2 million people around the world have been affected by this disorder and it can be found to be a genetically based disorder but not only diagnosed with genetics.

All of these disorders affect more than 10% of the population at any given time. Diagnosis’ can be made early on in life, but some cases such as alzheimer's can not be diagnosed until the patient is much older. Every mental disorder I researched has a genetic variant. This means that even though researchers cannot prove that all mental disorders come from genetics, they all share a common

Mental Illness refers to a wide range of conditions or disorders that impact your mood, behavior and thinking. In the United States, more than 26.2 percent of adults, ages 18 and older suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder. That is one in every four adults, an estimated 57.7 million people (Kim Foundation). However, only 6 percent of people with mental disorders suffer from serious mental illness which is results in serious functional impairment, and interferes with or limits one or more major life activities (NIH, 2012). Mental illness range from depression, attention deficit disorder, schizophrenia, and even autism and these disorders range on the spectrum of intrusion in a person’s life.

These inherited genes predispose an individual to inherit certain characteristics as well as illnesses his or her parents or ancestors experienced. Nevertheless, this predisposition does not guarantee that an individual will inherit these medical (e.g. heart disease or diabetes) or mental (e.g. depression or bipolar disorder) illnesses or characteristics (e.g. personality traits or physical feature) (NIMH, 1998). According to the Surgeon General of mental Health (NIMH, 1998), these inherited genes remain dormant until environmental influences such as the loss of a loved one or a job activates the genes related to the predisposed condition. For example, although unknown, evidence points to depressive disorders in the family of this learner. If this were true, when her parents conceived her, she would inherit the genes predisposing and increasing her risk of having depression as well. Nevertheless, the genes lay dormant showing no signs or symptoms of depression until the tragic death of her father. This tragic event activated these genes resulting in the development of chronic depression as well as a bipolar disorder. Therefore, making any children she would have predisposed to develop symptoms of depression as well. (The claim of a genetic blueprint predisposing future generations is evident in the fact three out of four of this learner’s children received a clinical diagnosis of depressive disorders.)

There is an ongoing debate whether mental illness is caused by genetic or environment. Although many argue that genetics is the cause, I believe that there is greater chance of it being environmental. I believe that mental illness is caused by environment because there are many factors that contribute to environment which include: a traumatic situation an individual encounter, feelings of inadequacy, or social and cultural expectations from an individual.

The two mentioned mental health disorders can be caused by genetics, and can stay dormant for years and something might trigger it, to develop into mental illness, some contributing factors can include drug or alcohol use or abuse. In module 13.3, the possible link being genetic is a phenomena “Evidence from many sources indicates that most psychological disorders have a genetic component” and it further states that chemical imbalances, and brain abnormalities can be a factor. (Module 13.3)

Mental illness has been a mystery seemingly unsolvable for thousands of years. Mental illness only became known as new brain imaging technologies were invented in the 20th century. In the present day depression and anxiety are commonplace, and they run rampant in our schools as adolescents face the challenges of becoming adults, working men and women put a smile on for innocent children while they internally panic at the thought of this week’s deadline, and the rich and famous can often be seen turning to drugs and alcohol only for the report to come out a week later, they have depression and anxiety, no one is surprised.

Many people believe that psychological disorders are unique, however they are becoming more common, in fact around 26.2% of people suffer from a psychological disorder in a given year. (Rathus, 2010) Psychological disorders are behavior patterns or mental processes that cause serious personal problems and interferes with daily life. Disorder types expand beyond only psychological, many other disorders fall under the category of being personality disorders, which are defined by patterns of uncompromising traits that affect and disrupt one’s ability in everyday life. When looking at disorders it is important to be able to detect the difference between psychological and personality disorders. Psychological disorders are illnesses a person