It Was A Normal Day For Dr. Allison Winters

Insane Asylums in the 1920-1930’s were disturbing places to live. Men and women were held in different wards, each ward had up to fifty patients (D’Antonio). Patients lived incredibly close to one another. Not one patient knew what

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

In Amy Bloom’s short story, “Silver Water”, the main character Rose takes her own life as a result to living with mental illness. Throughout the story the narrator, Rose’s sister, shows the difficulties of living with mental illness not only for Rose’s family, but also for Rose. A common obstacle for the family is getting Rose proper care; this is difficult because the family could not find long term insurance or doctor. In “ Silver Water”, Amy Bloom makes a point about how mental illness is treated; the specific point she makes is that mental illness is not taken as seriously as it should be. This is shown through how difficult it is for Rose to receive proper treatment.

In the film, the mental health professionals acknowledged this irony, however they misdiagnosed three of the five participants with a mental illness. I valued the mental health professional’s credentials and felt their status would lead to a high percentage of proper diagnoses. The result of the professionals mislabeling two of the ten participants with a history of mental illness, made me aware that a certain amount of experience, education, or status does not prevent

Doyle, Jim, and Peter Fimrite. "Caring for Mentally Ill Criminals Outside of Prison Is Dangerous." America's Prisons. Ed. Clare Hanrahan. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2006. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Criminally Insane Taking over State Hospitals." San Francisco Chronicle 22 July 2001. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 26 Feb. 2013.

The short documentary Crooked Beauty, directed by Ken Paul Rosenthal, narrates Jacks Ashley McNamara’s experience in a psychiatric ward and how her time in the facility shapes her new appreciation for her mental illness. One controversial issue has been trying to identify the true cause of mental illness. On the one hand, most people may think mental illness is simply a biological disorder that can be cured with a combination of medication and doctors demanding appropriate behavior until it sticks in the patient’s mind. On the other, McNamara contends that mental illness is a misconception with a patient’s oversensitivity, where it is harder for the patient to ignore certain events than “normal” people, and their doctor’s textbook knowledge. In McNamara’s mental institution, the psychiatrists simply trap her in a padded room and prescribe many different pills to suppress her mental illness instead of embracing her differences or showing her how to use those differences to her advantage. In attempt to prevent those who are mentally ill from feeling the same anger and frustration she felt, she demands a change in the line psychiatric treatment when she says:

In this book written by Ken Kesey, the main character is a man named R.P. McMurphy who tricks people into thinking that he is a psychopath. To McMurphy, the asylum is a get out of jail free card, which quickly turns out to be something else entirely. However, one vital aspect of this book is the way in which it addresses and provides insight upon several contemporary issues relating to the American healthcare system, by illustrating the ways in which our modern healthcare system has improved and grown in the last five decades. This includes the following areas of healthcare: the need for a healthcare reform, the lack of healthy doctor-patient relationships, and the murky definition of mental illness.

Attitudes toward the mentally ill started to change in the 60’s and 70’s from both the communities and professionals. The two began to recognize that the mentally ill had rights to live an independent life style like that of ordinary citizens. Before this, people with mental illness or developing disabilities had been institutionalized, giving strong medications, sedated and isolated from the rest of society. Living amongst the community, they receive their medication as well as interact with the general public. In addition, they also interact with security personnel and law enforcement officers, and all too frequently with unfortunate consequences. (Russell, 2012).

One of the most controversial issues regarding the mentally ill and the prison system is the medical treatment received. According to the film, “16% of the prison population in the state of Ohio, which reflects a national average, are persons who have been diagnosed with mental illness.” Prisons began as an institution designed to rehabilitate, however, a vast majority of prisons throughout the country do not provide adequate medical care for their mentally ill inmates. However, the prisons that do possess adequate health care are most likely the first instance in which the inmates with mental illness have received any sort of treatment in their entire life. People with chronic mental illness need constant supervision which they cannot get outside of prison. Although inmates does not receive the most extensive treatment, the treatment they do receive is well beyond the treatment they would have received had they stayed out of the criminal justice system.

Anatomy of an Epidemic: Magic Bullets, Psychiatric Drugs, and the Astonishing Rise of Mental Illness in America is my chosen book to for the class. Following excerpts and reviews, the book challenges the darker side of medications and what they exactly do to patients. The number of mentally ill has been highest in the past two decades, and it not only plagues adults, but children as well. One would think that the advancements in medicine would prevent this statistic going up, but it has not. Robert Whitaker investigates into the matter and explains the dangers of the medications, such as anti-depressants.

Over the past thirty years, there has been a 500% increase in the U.S incarceration rate. (The Sentencing project, 2014) Advances in medicine, such as the discovery of psychoactive drugs, led to the deinstitutionalization of mentally ill patients from psychiatric hospitals. With a long record of horrific abuse,

People at these institution have used these methods for a large amount of time. With the arrivals of both McMurphy and Irwing, the patients finally open their eyes and begin to see the atrocious treatment they receive. Despite the physical doings of electroshock therapy, lobotomies, and pills, in the ward, these treatments play a role in the patient's emotional stability. A constant exposure to the treatments causes the patients to identify themselves and each other by their mental condition. They refer to themselves as the Acutes who “ are still sick enough to be fixed” and the Chronics who “are in for the Good” (15-16). They see their mental illness as a defining characteristic. McMurphy, on the other hand, wants to get to know the patients and even asks Chief about his past. The prison uses a dehumanizing method when Aguilar becomes forced to stand saluting although the extension of this punishment does not comply with the rules. Irwing fight for his right and claims that he has experience with punishing soldiers.

Officer Wyler sighed this time. We drove to the psychiatric hospital but it was too late. When we went in, I asked the desk clerk if I could see dr. Marian Hammond. The clerk looked at me strangely but noticed I was a police officer. Dr. Hammond walked down the hallway towards us. She nervously stared at us with her light blue eyes. “Hello, i’m dr. Marian Hammond...oh..youre police officers. What would you be looking for here?” she said in a caring voice but it turns into something more nervous. “We’re here to see Dean Roderick Moxley. He is a patient of yours, is he not?” I answered. “Yes...yes he is. Are you here to interrogate him for something? If anything, he’s been here for 5 years. Won’t say a damn word to anyone…” responded Hammond. I told her that’s fine. She directed us to his room. All white walls with a bed and a table with a pen and tons of papers. Dean was there. Sitting in a corner, but silent. Not sleeping, just silent. At least I could sigh with relief that Dean is still here. Officer Wyler and I look at some of the papers. The words “Libertatem, magistratum, morte, exactor, sanguinem” were common on these papers. I looked to Wyler. “We should probably translate these”. I headed over to Moxley. I stared him in his cold, dead and glazed over eyes and…...wait….dead? I looked closer at Dean. Wait. That’s not him. I glared at Dr. Hammond. “This isn’t him! This is a dead look alike! Where is he!!!!!!!!!!????? DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU JUST LET

The organic source of mental illness and “appropriate” ways to treat/care for those suffering with a mental illness has been professionally, legally, and ethically debated for years. Society’s depiction of mental illness and skewed perceptions of this population has deemed those with a mental disorder incurable. These thoughts and beliefs date back to the 17th century and continue to be an undercurrent in today’s society, even after many efforts have been employed to properly inform society. In the book Crazy: A Father’s Search through America’s Mental Health Madness, the major premise of this book is to shed light and bring awareness to the multifaceted complexity of mental health. One major argument in this book is that of jails becoming the new asylums. Created as a infrastructure to house and care for those with an mental illness, its closure left this population displaced in the community without proper care or treatment; creating an inevitable cycle of jail, mental hospital, court, release, and repeat. Throughout this cycle, those with a mental illness often encounter harsh living conditions and become victims of violence; living in confinement, while not receiving adequate care. Additionally, treatment is administered for competency not sustainability, so those with a mental illness often endure enough treatment for them to stand competent in trial. No forms of sustainability are implemented for this population to reside in the community, resulting in relapse; often

“Both the book and the movie are insightful views into societal problems such as stereotypes about the people who have mental disorders. But the film is largely out of date in terms of depicting hospital staff as manipulative or evil. From what I saw when I worked in a similar institution, mental hospitals are a calm, healing environments—as they should be” (Wind Goodfriend, 2012).