Differing Mental Illness

Susan Cain, a well known and appreciated writer from America in the field of psychology, recently held a speech on one of the famous TED talks and entirely captured me by trying to give the audience an understanding of introversion.

Ever since the concept of mental illness became more mainstream, it has become a widely controversial topic. Based on what has been seen in society, people who are involved with mental disorders are often dehumanized in some way.

Susan Cain’s Ted Talk The Power Of Introverts brought a new conversation to society in how introverts are treated. Five years ago (when this took place) this topic was not very well discussed, which made this piece very eye opening for some. Using Aristotle's appeals: logos and pathos, as well as a comparative argument in her ted talk, Cain persuades viewers that we as a society oppress/shame introverts, not allowing them to strive or be themselves in our now extroverted society. She advocates for a more balanced society that serves both introverts and extroverts instead of just extroverts.

In the United States today, there are over fifty-one million disabled adults and children. Throughout our nation’s history, we have not allowed the best treatment and care for these numerous citizens. But, in the recent past, the government has passed laws, made exceptions, and thoroughly tried to provide accommodations to these people with special needs. While this is true, America, as a whole, still views this group as strange or different. Even though this is exceptionally normal, it is not correct. The United States needs to be opened up to the truth about their fellow American citizens. The people of America ought to understand that these disabilities affect not only those who are disabled, but that it affects the family and friends

Susan Cain’s “Power of Introverts” talk was all about the importance of people who are considered introvertly inclined in our society. In her talk, she described first how her family influenced her in being an introvert. Reading is her family’s social activity and that one can roam around through his or her own imagination. She also discussed about her memorable summer camp story where she has discovered the way extrovert people live and tried to shift in this kind of life. With all these changes in her life she never left her introverted life and espoused the ideas that when it comes to creativity and leadership, the society needs introverts and the things where they excel most. She explained that introversion is how one responds to stimulation including social stimulation which is different from a person being shy – the fear of social judgment.

Individuals with a mental health illness tend to experience discrimination due to misinformation, assumptions and stereotyping. Many people in our society are not educated on the subject of mental illnesses and often have misconceptions about the conditions and what affects these pre conceived ideas can have on the individual suffering from 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.

Throughout history people who have a mental health illness are not accepted in society. The attitudes of people in society, for example the workplace, is an important measure of the success of that society. Segregating people with mental illnesses from society, by putting someone in a institute, contributed to the attitude that an individual with mental illness are not capable of participating or contributing in society. These negative stereotypes are often portrayed in media, and influence the stigma of mental health illness being dangerous. This controversial concept of dangerousness states that individuals with a mental illness are more dangerous than those without a mental illness. Various forms of discrimination and exclusion in society is still present today. If society begins to understand mental illness, then they will judge a lot less. Success in that society will come when society accepts other people who are different

Susan Cain is an honors graduate of Princeton and Harvard Law School. Since graduating Cain has become the chief revolutionary and co-founder of the Quiet Revolution and the co-founder of the Quiet Schools Network and the Quiet Leadership Institute. Cain is also the author of the bestsellers Quiet Power: The Secret Strengths of Introverts and Quiet: The Power of Introverts in A World That Can’t Stop Talking, which has been on the New York Times bestseller list for almost three years and was named the #1 best book of the year by Fast Company magazine. The goal of the Quiet Revolution is to unlock the power of introverts for the benefits of everyone which was discussed in the TED talk that is being analyzed in this essay. The TED talk “The power of introverts” has been viewed over 17 million times and was named one of Bill Gates all-time favorite talks. The purpose of this speech was to inform the audience about how introversion is not what most people make it out to be. Throughout her speech, Cain compares and contrast introversion with extroversion and

She gives an example of inferiority complex, people who were looked upon as insecure and no good. She then lists all of the names of the inferiority people such as Abe Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, and Shakespeare who were successful introverts. Hoping to then again gain the attention of people with a personal story by using pathos, by doing so she also tells the readers about men who have done extraordinary, ethical advancements for the country. Abe Lincoln, freed slaves; Teddy Roosevelt, loved and protected nature; and Shakespeare wrote plays to distract people from horrible events going on around them, Cain provided ethical examples of men who were successful introverts and still accomplished many achievements. Cain goes on to talk about how the president of Yale said that to be at this school you do not have to an outstanding but be a well-rounded person. This basically meant that to attend a high-class university you are not required to be an extroverted or introverted person, but a good citizen overall. She does well with this by giving hope to those who do not know whether they are introverted or extroverted, they just have to be a good person. Another topic Cain hits strongly is the story of how Dale Carnegie was a shy introvert who became rich with public speaking, writing a book and creating his own institute. Cain does this to convince the audience that introverts are as capable to

Susan Cain author of the book “Quiet” gives off a very interesting quote in the front cover of the book, and gives the reader a good focus on what “Quiet” is mainly about “Quiet, The Power Of Introverts In A World That Can’t Stop talking.” Cain wants to show just from a title that extroverts are the ideal that people from the western culture idolized, she speaks highly in the book “Quiet” how introverts are seen as a “second class personality trait”, and the extrovert ideal is praised more ad seen as people who are go getters; who are smarter, better looking people, and fun.. Cain uses herself as an example in the book “Quiet” to show that introverts are not just shy people, who are unattractive. She argues and proves there is more than an extrovert ideal, introverts ! Proving her arguments and facts she parts the book into four.

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.

The growing population extends in diversity by the second around the world, for there is not a single human being identical to another. In terms of personality, looks, and interests, each individual creates a unique addition to our own developed society. Tolerance towards indifferences to the percent of population containing a mental illness needs to be expanded. Society needs to expose the reality of the multiplicity of individuals. Undeniably, different characteristics about a person should be identified. However, people should not be labeled with a diagnosis or a disorder due to their actions.The members of the world today have most likely experienced a form of mental instability at one point in their life. The education provided to the public concerning mental illnesses is limited, and perhaps not taken seriously. Addressing the problem and educating society 's people is the only way to reach a solution to a broad conflict. To expose the amount of people that struggle with an illness that disables them to act differently in situations would create a wider understanding of different reactions. Society has isolated these actions of mental illnesses as something to be ashamed of over time, and have discriminated these acts making them prohibited. To reach a solution of tolerance towards mental disorders, the combination of actions for addressing the problem, educating the public of the intolerance, and

Mental health—and the stigma that comes along with it—is a very important issue, one of global importance. Shah and Beinecke explain that 450 to 500 million people suffer from mental illnesses (15). Just considering the amount of people who suffer from mental illness is enough to prove that this is a global issue. Despite the large amounts of people who are affected by mental illness, only one third of countries have some sort of program to help (15). This shows the lack of concern for those who suffer from mental illness. Stereotypes affect many people, and those with mental illness are no exception. Everyone has their own preconceived perspectives and notions of mental health, and many of them are uninformed and unjustified. It is up to us to start changing our viewpoints on mental health.

There are many stigmas, or misconceptions and misperceptions in our society which need to be shattered. I believe that one of the worse possible effects of stigma is that it causes those affected by psychological disorders, or mental illness, to crawl more deeply into themselves because it provokes a sense of shame. Stigma thrusts those suffering with mental illness into a sense of isolation, social exclusion, and discrimination. “Stigma can lead to discrimination … It may be obvious or direct … Or it may be unintentional or subtle…” (Staff). Stigma is often as big as the illness itself and I confess to having been a perpetuator of this dreaded thing, although not consciously aware and without the intent of furthering the harm of someone.