Argumentative Essay On Mental Illness

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.

Mental illness becomes a bigger issue with a long lasting cultural stereotyped due to the manner in which it has long been labelled (Miles, 1988). Although mental illness is very much connected to instabilities in one’s mental health state, as previously mentioned, a person can be mentally healthy but still suffer from a mental illness. What is understood by mental illness is that it

Neo soul artist, Angie Stone puts to lyrics what many Black women have been thinking about Black men for years when she said "you got mad issues, and you tend to refuse every opportunity to right your wrong". Because the women in our lives, who know us so intimately and care for us so deeply, can see when we are hurting or responding out of pain. But Black men young and old are walking around with anger, hurt, and stress which is literally sucking the joy out our lives through high blood pressure, impotence, fatigue, alcoholism, and many other physical and emotional manifestations as the result of poor mental health. However, many of us stubbornly refuse to get the mental health help that is needed to be better men - husbands, fathers, boyfriends, or just plain ole emotionally whole.

“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.

According to NAMI, The National Alliance of Mental Illness 1 in 5 adults experience a mental health condition yearly. 1 in 20 people live with a serious mental illness like, schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Not only does the person who is directly experiencing a mental illness suffer, but the family, and friends are also highly affected. NAMI states that 50% of mental health conditions begin by age 14 and 75% of mental illnesses develop by age 24. Each year, 1 in 5 children from the ages 13-18 experiences a mental illness reported by NAMI. That’s a large amount of our young generation. Three out of four people with a mental illness report that they have experienced stigma, a mark of disgrace that sets a person apart according to the

While stigma may not necessarily be a cause of a person’s mental disorder, it can certainly contribute to the complication and perpetuation of their illness. The effect of stigma goes well beyond just the patient and provides a commentary on society’s overall level of intolerance of those who are considered different from the majority. By recognizing the level of stigma that exists, perhaps we can alter that behavior and gravitate towards a more productive attitude towards mental illness.

Eric Windeler lost his son Jack Windeler; a student at Queen’s University, just over five years ago to

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.

Stigma has been said to be “a feeling of being negatively differentiated owing to a particular condition, group membership or state in life”(Arboleda-Florez & Stuart, 2012, p. 458). There are typically two types of mental illness stigma that are discussed. Public stigma, also known as societal stigma, is the stigma associated with the prejudicial attitudes the public holds towards those people who suffer from mental illness (Arboleda-Florez & Stuart, 2012; Corrigan, Markowitz, Watson, Rowan & Kubiak, 2003). Self-stigma, also known as internalized stigma, is the loss of self-esteem, withdrawal, and personal shame that some with mental illness will experience. Self-stigma is usually developed when those who suffer from mental illness associate the negative stereotypes the public holds with themselves (Chronister, Chou, & Lieo, 2013; Corrigan et al., 2003).

About 1 in 5 youth aged 13–18 experiences a severe mental disorder at least once in their lifetime. Over one-third of students with a mental health condition, age 14­–21 drops out—the highest dropout rate of any disability group. With these statistics, it shows how many people are not gaining support and are just giving up because they cannot find convenient help. If this issue is shown in the classroom, then the awareness rates will rise, making more establishments for support and treatment.

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.

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.

You rub your cold, clammy hands against your jeans to dry the sweat off of them. You feel your heart beating through your chest as if someone is banging against it like it’s a door. Your stomach twists up into knots that are too tight to untie. When experiencing something that causes such feelings of discomfort, particularly if those sensations are new, a person could falsely presume, “This gives me anxiety.” And as the promotion of mental health awareness grows, we should encourage people to be as open as they want in regards to their mental health; after all, the more it's discussed, the more informed people will be and the more able we will be to conquer this stigmatized illness. However, it is possible to have too much of a good thing. As more and more people come forward to share their own personal accounts with their mental health, it seems others are joining the “trend”, borrowing terminology from the Diagnostically and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders or DSM and co-opting the pain. It seems that nothing is more fashionable right now than anxiety disorders. People have taken to exaggerating their everyday experiences and throwing medical terminology appropriate for a psychiatrist's office in the middle of conversations. They aren't nervous about an upcoming exam; they have "bad anxiety." They aren't uncomfortable to start at a new school where they do not know anyone; they have "social anxiety." And they don't experience nausea in their stomach; they have

While the situation involving a young woman shopping for a dress and being alarmed by the clothing on the racks of Urban Outfitters isn’t an exact account of any person’s experience, it isn’t hard to believe that these shirts would upset a fair amount of customers. These shirts remained on sale, in stores and online, for a full six months before Urban Outfitters issued an apology. How many young people, males or females, bought these shirts believing that the messages offered were healthy? How many young people looked at the shirt with the words “eat less” only to find that they couldn’t even fit into the largest size shirt? The shirt with the word “depression” repeated across the shirt can be taken off at the end of the day, but real depression lingers underneath the skin after the shirt is thrown into the dirty laundry. These clothing items are damaging to the general public as a whole, triggering those who continually face mental health struggles as well as promoting a dangerous lifestyle to impressionable youths.

On Sunday, November 5th, 2017, a gunman opened fire on a church in Texas. On the night of October 1st, 2017, the deadliest shooting in modern US history happened in Las Vegas, toppling over the record of the still-fresh Orlando shooting from June of 2016. Amidst the debates of gun control that these shootings have provoked, Donald Trump publicly announced that he did not blame guns. Instead, he quotes it to be a “mental health problem.” While his quote may be a simple cop-out to keep his views about gun control down pat, he may have had a point. Mental illness is slowly taking over the United States of America, making our generations more susceptible to apathy and violence. These were all caused by those who seemed too far out of reach from the world, those who had too much inside to know how to handle other than violence. To counteract this snowball effect, people should be required to have an annual therapy session. It should be free, or at the very least affordable enough that anyone of any class can go for their annual visit, with the option to go more often if they so choose to. Several companies provide a service already to their employees, called Employee Assistance Program, or EAP. However, that should be expanded to be able to give treatment to everyone, not just those with an employment situation that provides EAP. Therapy would benefit everyone with mental and physical illness, and there are many types of therapy that can give every individual the individualized