Crazy : The Struggles Mental Health Patients And Their Family Members Encounter

This story is a controversial novel that uncovers many issues that the health care and legal system encounter. Pete Earley includes many difficult stories that people with mental illness and/or their family members endure. As well as, discusses the struggles he went through to get his son into treatment. Mike has bipolar disorder, and would refuse treatment, since he has the right to refuse treatment, there legally was nothing the doctors could do to help. It is interesting that when Mike refused treatment, he was not in the right state of mind, however, there is legally nothing that the health care providers can do. It is astonishing, that if Pete wanted to get Mike involuntary admitted, then he must lie and tell the health care providers, that his son threatened to kill him. The health care field is all about being open, and being there for the patient, however, because of all the laws in place, it prevents patients from receiving vital care. Hence, Pete’s story positively impacts nurses to want

He grabs his hair in an attempt to escape the constant, faint hum in the back of his head as the internal voices maintain their persistent ridicule. A swarm of people stands around him after his involuntary wails attract their attention. The man glances up from his knees and asks the mass, “Why won’t you help me?” In No One Cares About Crazy People: The Chaos and Heartbreak of Mental Health in America, author Ron Powers explores the historical aspects of schizophrenia while exposing his sons’ struggles to deepen the reader's knowledge about mental illnesses and fade the line dividing ‘crazy’ and ‘normal.’

Life is a daring adventure. Throughout the lifespan, one will encounter many rewarding and challenging experiences. For example, during one’s youth, balancing academics and maintaining healthy relationships with both family and friends is perplexing. Nevertheless, imagine adding another element on top of the boat load of responsibilities and expectations that growing up beckons- mental illness. In 72 Hour Hold by Bebe Moore Campbell, the main character, Trina, truly defines how much of a rollercoaster life can be.

Decision making and best interests of the patient in the care for people with mental health problems are one of the main concerns in nursing practice. Healthcare professionals should be knowledgeable enough to practice the legal code regarding decision making and protection of the patient with mental health problems (NMC, 2008).

The final article I analyzed was titled “Aging Parents of Adults with Serious Mental Illness” and was written by Jennifer Van Pelt. This article sought to address the type of support parents caring for special needs adult children require as they age. It discussed how parents are the primary caregivers to children with a severe mental illness, or SMI, throughout the majority of the child’s life. The amount of care provided to adults with SMI by their aging parents is so substantial that if parental caregivers stopped providing care, public programs could never handle it. The author of this article wanted to put more focus on assisting the aging caregiver population, increase their emotional well-being, and lower their stress burden through the use of a social work home-based intervention program. In the pilot study, families received instruction on problem-solving techniques, education about the adult child’s particular mental illness, and sessions that included cognitive therapy, stress management, behavioral management, and future planning. This initial study yielded promising results, including greater life satisfaction and less emotional stress reported by aging parents. The author concludes the article by discussing the importance of planning for the future and how the adult child with SMI will be taken care of after the parents’ deaths.

In the book, Crazy, by Pete Earley, provides a detailed overview of the mental health system in the United States, as it presents a first hand narrative of Earley’s family journey through the system. The author’s major premise and arguments, in the book, is to highlight the history of mental health, navigation through the judicial system with mental illness, the bureaucracy and policies of hospitals, society views on human rights and client safety, and the impact on the individual, family, and community. The content suggests that human service workers and public health workers should extend their professional lens to advocate for change in the mental health system in the United States.

story in a memoir titled Madness: A Bipolar Life, in an attempt to shed some light and insight on the

In America, one in five adults has a mental health condition, a staggering statistic. Appreciatively, recovery is the goal in the mental health centers of 2017. Nevertheless, in the 1950s, patients were provided with inhumane treatments such as lobotomies. Ken Kesey’s novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, provides an accurate portrayal of a psychiatric ward in the 1950s. The antagonist, Nurse Ratched, hopes her patients will not recover and manipulates them to gain authority. In contrast with the past, Nurses of the present day treat individuals with respect. Conduct towards mentally ill patients has changed since the 1950s in ways such as public attitude, medication, and

The effect of mental illness can influence a family for generations, whether individuals are hindered by mental illness personally, or live with mental illness in their household. In Lee Smith’s memoir Dimestore: A Writer’s Life the impact of mental illness is seen throughout her mother’s family to her mother, in her father, and also in her son. Each family member is described in a different tone, and the influence of each family member is seen her recount of their life and struggle with mental illness. In Lee Smith’s memoir, Dimestore, the role of gender plays a large part in her reception and reaction to the mental illness and hospitalizations of her family members. Gender plays a large role on the effect the mental illness has on Smith,

“Next to Normal” is about a family struggling with the ups and downs of surviving a mental illness. Following the lives of this very dysfunctional family, the playwright touches on what families living with a mental disease have to go through on a daily basis. This musical attempts to shine a light on the stigma associated with being “normal” and how anything other than normal is seen as unacceptable and needs to be “fixed.” The musical deals with heavy themes such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, depression, and suicide.

Senator Creigh Deeds story is just one of many that end in tragedy because of a mental health system that has failed. While the major proportion of people living with mental illness are not violent, they can become a victim of violence. According to the latest statistics from the American Psychological Association one in five adults has a diagnosable mental disorder, one in twenty-four has a serious mental disorder (SMI), and people with mental illness are no more likely to be violent that people without mental illness (Association, American Psychiatric, 2016). Untreated mental health care is characteristic of the violent crimes that we see happening today. Some of the reasons behind these untreated individuals are the unmet needs of people not having a financial means to pay for services, lack of insurance, knowledge about how to access care, embarrassment about having the need for services, and those that needed care but experienced delays in accessing care (Jones et al., 2014).

Nurses are faced with an ethical dilemma in whether or not an adolescent has the mental capacity to consent for treatment. Although law is not clearly defined, “As a general rule, health care professionals should always do what they believe to be in the best interest of the minor” (Sirbaugh & Diekema, 2011, p. 428). Therefore, healthcare professionals should always act in the best interest and wellbeing of the patient. In addition, nurses should also be knowledgeable of state and federal laws related to adolescent’s ability to consent to treatment and be prepared to face these ethical

Khare parallels this aspect of growing up in a family with a parent who has a mental illness, but she leaves little discussion on the socio-economic position of her household, both during her childhood, as well as her early adulthood. Grove, Rupert, & Maybery seek to educate children (and families as well) on mental illness and coping, but have nothing to say regarding the financial aspect of the family struggle with mental illness.

Through the figure of the child with mental illness there seems to be something at work here. A reconfiguration of child’s rights where harmful medication becomes essential, and where interventions that course harm become treatment.

Since middle school, I have worked with individuals that have mental illness—from volunteering at school to volunteering at the hospital. Thus, I don’t feel too uncomfortable around people with mental illnesses. However, I do worry sometimes that they might hurt themselves—for instance if an individual has depression or anxiety—so I feel that I need to constantly watch and care for them. I admit that sometimes I also worry that certain individuals could harm me if I’m not careful, since they can be unpredictable. When around individuals with mental illnesses, they also seem for fragile to me, as if they might break if I'm not carful with what I say or do.