Argumentative Essay On Mental Health

I’ve always been passionate about understanding others; stepping into their shoes and seeing, thinking, and appreciating the lives they live. I think it is important to take that extra step and see things from a different point of view. It is the only way to achieve a true understanding. I believe in this philosophy so much so, that it’s one of the main reasons I have this blog; to give others a glimpse of a life with mental illness. I’ve been in treatment for 2 months and 26 days and I think it’s time for another peek into my brain.

“Nearly 5 million children in the U.S. have some type of mental illness” (Goldberg). It is agreeable that there are many young children that deal with mental illness every day. Schools should be concerned for every student’s well being. Moreover, mental health is a part of a person’s overall “well being.” Therefore, schools need to make the mental health of students a stronger focus and implement plans to keep students mentally well and educated. To help create a positive, mental health aware environment where students feel open to seek help, high school students should be educated on how to be mentally healthy, be given a safe place to seek help, and be encouraged to monitor and maintain their mental health. Mental illness and mental health care need to be a more eminent priority in our society, starting with high schools.

Under society’s norms for decades, young women have been put under the pressure and anticipation to have perfect bodies. That is, thin and curved, beautified by applying pounds of the makeup to their face but not appear ridiculously overdone. Who’s responsible for these standards imposed on young women? When a young girl picks up the model along the cover of Vogue being called flawless, it’s easy for her to then aspire to be a real-life imitation of the photocopy. These companies produce magazine covers shown with girls’ images daily. As if keeping the perfect body wasn’t hard enough our culture also forces girls into the forever expanding world of composition, however, body image is a pressing issue for young women. Advertisements and posters of skinny female models are all over. Young girls not only could be better but need to be more upright and feel driven to throw the perfect figure. Moreover, girls are evaluated and oppressed by their physical appearances. With supplements and apparel designed to enhance a facial expression; social media, magazines, and marketing campaigns and advertisements add to the burden of perfection. The fashion industry is a prime object of body image issues, as they believe clothes look better on tall and svelte women. Established on a survey participated by 13 to 17-year-old in the U.S., 90% “felt pressured by fashion and media industries to be skinny”, with more than 60% routinely compares themselves to models, while 46%

'Imagine a health problem that affects one in six of us, that has a deep and damaging impact on our family and working lives, where effective treatments are available, and yet where only about a quarter of people with this condition get any treatment.'

When people are mentally ill, they suffer social stigma, have higher health costs, and are at an increased risk of becoming poor. Every one out of five Americans is diagnosed with a mental illness. That 20 percent of the population can negatively influence the normal stresses of life, working productively and fruitfully, and being able to make a contribution the community. When humankind as a whole cannot recognize that mental illness is a serious issue, there is more harm being done than good. Any kind of mental illness can be caused merely by society, but also can worsen due to humanity not understanding how injustice can make a serious impact. The mental health problems that people face can be limited to society learning about the injustice of these illnesses.

Have you ever wonder how does Schizophrenia comes about? Many people tend to believe that Schizophrenia is just something that just happens sudden, while researchers are determined to find the real cause of how Schizophrenia comes about. Although many people don’t know where Schizophrenia starts from,researchers have developed that schizophrenia starts from the birth defects and from family members.

Since mental illnesses cannot be seen, some people refuse to acknowledge their existence. I think that you shouldn’t be ashamed to be facing disorder like these and feel as if you have to hide it. You are not alone. Although, since the injury is not physical, most people would not know what you are struggling from unless you told them. Therefore, it is your choice. However some people think that you have a choice in the matter of having a mental illness are undoubtedly wrong. It is just like a physical injury, you did not choose to break your leg, it just happened whilst living your life. Those who suffer should not be ashamed for needing help of a therapist or medication, they are all steps on working through your illness and making your life

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning individuals are almost 3 times more likely than others to experience a mental health condition such as major depression or generalized anxiety disorder (National Alliance on Mental Illness). That is around 55% of LGBTQ people who will develop a mental illness. While some mental illnesses can be genetic, prejudice and stigma have created a higher rate of mental illness in LGBTQ youth because mental illnesses and disorders develop due to prejudice resulting in hate crimes, the stigma of mental health, and the homophobia and transphobia in the United States - all of which that efforts to change are slowly being implemented in schools and homes around the nation. Prejudice and hate crimes such as sexual assault, murder, and torture are not something uncommon for LGBTQ people to experience. For instance, in 2016, 27 transgender people reported to have been murdered, that is more than two people murdered a month (Schmider). However, we can trace it back to much earlier than that.

It is no secret that modern day advertisements circulate around celebrities. This is not new. Unfortunately the propaganda does not end with a pop icon saying how much they love the product. Take the Kardashians, for example. Kim Kardashian created her fame around her body. She was displayed in a Carl’s Jr. commercial where the focus of the video was hardly on lettuce. The commercial says, “Who says salads can’t be hot?”. Following the release in January of 2010, there have been 258 million media reports on the advertisement. There must be some reason why the response to this thirty second video was so overwhelming. The Kardashians are the most well known family in America. We look at magazine covers and think; Why is this headline news? The Kardashians are hardly regarded as successful business people. Kim has created a culture through a video game that made roughly $100 million since the 2014 launch. It is ridiculous, but besides the absurd plot of the game, it is remarkable that the revenue was so large. Kim’s sister, Kylie Jenner, at 19 years of age launched one of the most successful cosmetic lines of 2016 with a net worth of $10 million. There is no denying that the Kardashians are more than their appearances. However, it is common to see television, film, and propaganda ridden with sexual innuendos. These “harmless” comments are the reason strong woman are disregarded for their achievements and praised

During a mental health event the First Lady, Michelle Obama said, “At the root of this dilemma is the way we view mental health in this country. [...] Whether an illness affects your heart, your leg or your brain, it’s still an illness, and there should be no distinction.” This shows that mental illness stigma in society is based on mental illness being perceived more negatively than other physical illness when it should actually be seen as the same. Stigma around mental illness has had very immense adverse effects on the willingness of undiagnosed suffers to not seek treatment when they need it. As a result of this one in five people with a mental illness will not get the treatment they need which has the effect of high suicide rates among the untreated sufferers. In an effort to reduce stigma around mental illness, so that more undiagnosed sufferers seek treatment, schools should devote more time to increasing awareness of mental illness and its effects.

The slogan for Snickers chocolate bar, “You’re not yourself when you’re hungry,” demonstrates a male timber worker as a whinny woman who got struck to the dirt floor by a big timber at the end of the commercial. This Snickers commercial, which was chosen as the best of 2011 ads, belittles femininity and uses violence towards women. It advertises the thought that being whinny is like being a woman, which must be result in violence. Jean Kilbourne argues that ads labels women as an object, while using numerous male figures to dominate over her vulnerability in various ways that suggested disturbing images of rap and brutality (575). Calvin Klein tactically pushed the public’s limit when he ran an ad campaign that look similar to child pornography, which gained many controversies, but at the same time managed to increase sales due to free publicity (594). This illustrates the force of advertisement and its power on our society and public. Although it disturbs many public views due to the suggestion of child pornography, the ads promote daring rebel as an appealing image to the majority of customers (594). Advertisements that objectify women to meet physical perfection are inspiring young girls from all over the world to become a size zero, to be nothing.

Is depression a subject that people typically tend to brush aside? Rather than facing away from a serious issue that people suffer from in their daily lives, we should discuss the methods to help people with their struggle from depression. A common method to treat depression is the use of antidepressants. But are they effective? Do they cause more harm and danger than aid? Are there other methods that can provide greater improvement rather than a pill? Instead​ ​of​ ​using​ ​antidepressants​ ​there​ ​are​ ​other​ ​alternatives such​ ​as​ ​placebos​ ​and​ ​types​ ​of​ ​therapy​ ​that​ ​can​ ​be​ ​just​ ​as,​ ​or​ ​more​ ​effective​ ​than​ ​the​ ​use​ ​of ​prescription​ antidepressants.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, “Nearly three million Australians live with depression and/or anxiety, which affects their wellbeing, personal relationships, career and productivity”. It is true that the real definition of depression is skewed amongst those in society. Some chose to believe that depression is a normal reaction to life’s stresses, like losing a loved one, getting fired from a job, going through a divorce, and other difficult situations, and that only when these feelings come without reason and persist long term should it be seen as a serious concern. Others believes that depression is no more than a sad feeling that is ignorable, only revealed to people for the sake of attention and the care that comes from pity and sympathy. Personally, I believe that depression is a scientifically proven mental illness, and as it dramatically alters one’s self and has become prevalent in society, it should be discussed with the gravity and urgency deserved to such a pressing topic.

While it’s fashion week in London, the size “zero” models start to prepare for the big show by purging to be as thin as possible. Most models starve themselves in order to achieve the “waif”, stick-thin figure; it becomes so addictive, almost like second nature that it further leads to serious eating disorders. From recent studies, today’s model weighs about 23% less than the normal woman. Clearly, most models do not depict the average woman. Men and women all over the world follow the influences that the fashion industry provides. They believe that the fashion industry depicts on what society should be acknowledged as, picture-perfect thin.

It’s so common for people to conflate stress and anxiety that the two terms are often considered synonyms for one another. Even so, experts say that these are actually not the same thing, and the differences are, perhaps, best enumerated in the panel discussion held at the Enloe Facebook Live event hosted Thursday, “Keep Holiday Stress at Bay.” Health professionals unpacked the differences between anxiety, stress and depression. Additionally, new studies suggest that stress is able to reprogram cells and that certain kinds of anxiety can be born of genetic predisposition.