Mental Health And Mental Illness

I have lived, loved and worked with individuals with mental illness and mental health problems throughout my life. There are few diagnoses that I have not dealt with on either a personal or a professional level. Many of the individuals from both of these streams of my life have self-medicated with alcohol or drugs as well. The delineation between a mental illness and a mental health problem is difficult. Is there a difference? Not according to the biomedical model

A long-contemplated concept in health and the wider community has been the hindering factors preventing good health outcomes for people with mental illness. One principal theory that has emerged is that stigma is preventing these good outcomes from being achieved. Three reoccurring links emerging in literature are that stigma impacts self-concept, stigma causes isolation and withdrawal, and that stigma reduces help-seeking and treatment adherence. These three themes will be explored individually from the primary perspective of a healthcare context to determine the effect of stigma on the health outcomes of people with mental illness. This topic of concern was selected as it has not received much attention by previous researchers. As such, little is still known and understood about the causal link between stigma and health outcomes.

Mental illness; the term has increasingly become mainstream, as seen on the television, newspapers, and twitter. Shortly after the fatal shooting of a new screw in Virginia the word got around that the gunman had shown symptoms of a mental condition. A mental disorder is prolonged dysfunction in thoughts behavior and/or emotions that significantly deviates from common human behavior. During his life This individual was never diagnosed of this condition however after analysis of the terrible shooting and other events which led to the shooting showed major disturbance of his mind. With the recent advancement of psychology, the once underlying and difficult to interpret conditions have been exposed and step are being taken to overcome mental disorders. However, there is still debate of how mental disorders are viewed in the community and when thinking outside the norm turns into a mental condition. In the case of the Virginia shooter some analyst argued that the shooter was mentally well with wrong morals whereas some argued in favor of the existence of a mental condition. Taking a look at the major life events preceding the shooting, an insight into his mental health can be used to determine type of disorder he might have had. For instance, he had recently been fired from the same news agency for misconduct and many complains which had been filed against him. His Facebook and Twitter accounts showed that he felt out of control of his life, stress of losing a job and a lot of

Mental health as Pilgrim (2005) stated is used positively to indicate a state of psychological wellbeing and negatively to indicate its opposite, or euphemistically to indicate facilities used by, or imposed upon, people with mental problems (pg 3) although Richards (2002) argued the concept of sanity and insanity are relative and may vary according to individual and social perspectives, and illustrated that an acceptable behaviour at an arts festival may not be perceived similar in a private home and that there are times when every one of us could be considered to be in an abnormal state of mind (pg 13-15) and in that regard dispensed the term ‘madness’ which could have emotive meaning, is neither a medical term nor a diagnosis and could

Very little is known about the mental health population and the women who are pregnant while incarcerated. This paper will compare two articles that describe what accommodations are currently in place for both populations. Although mental illness and pregnancy are two very different medical conditions they both require more accommodations than the normal inmate. “An Examination of Care Practices of Pregnant Women Incarcerated in Jail Facilities in the United States,” is a study that examined the pregnancy related accommodations and health care provided for regional jail populations.

Many students suffer from anxiety, stress, overworking, etc.… but those students are labeled incorrectly. The students are listed as having mental health problems when actually they should be referred to as having a mental illness. Mental health is “a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community” (Mental health basics). Mental health is something a normal, healthy functioning human being has when everything in their head is in order. A mental illness is the opposite of mental health. It is defined as “collectively all diagnosable mental disorders” or “health conditions that are characterized by alterations in thinking, mood, or behavior (or some combination thereof) associated with distress and/or impaired functioning.” (Mental health basics). Many negative effects can happen to students if they are diagnosed with a mental health disorder. This includes inside and outside of schools. Kids who are between the ages of six to eighteen are more prone to develop a mental illness because it’s a transitional period in their life that most are not too aware of. During this time a child 's mind and psyche are changing and when there 's change, there 's a lot of room for error. A child 's mind can easily be impacted and anyone can leave a good or bad permanent impression. Also, because the kids are all going

On the continuum of mental health, mental health and illness are at opposite ends of the spectrum. Most of the population lies somewhere in the middle of the spectrum; however, the line can be crossed putting an individual into the mental illness end of the continuum. According to the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI), one in five adults experience mental illness in a given year in the United States (“Mental Health By The Numbers”, 2015). Although this is a relatively large number, mental illness is often represented in the media as something that is odd, different, or away from what is considered normal. Because of this, many representations of mental disorders are inaccurate and often times picks out certain features of a disorder to focus on. However, there are many media forms that portray mental health accurately. One such film is As Good As It Gets (1997), which is focused on a main character (Melvin Udall) who has a diagnosis of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Throughout the film his OCD affects many different aspects of his life and his relationships. This paper will summarize the main plot of the movie, summarize obsessive-compulsive disorder, and then look at the what is accurate and inaccurate about the films representation of an individual living with OCD.

Through the columns of your respected newspaper I would like to bring attention to mental health issues, specifically the stigmas attached to mental illness and help bring understanding on a misunderstood subject.

While there is some overlap between a mental illness and mental health, mental health is defined as the complex interaction of brain function and environmental influences. The distinction between mental illnesses and mental health is that mental illness is a condition of mental health. However, just because our mental health is compromised due to external circumstances, we do not necessarily have a mental illness. Nevid talks about how the ups and downs of life affect nearly everyone. People, throughout their lifetime, will experience anxiety from tragedy, anticipation or from failure, and those experiences may cause people to have imbalances in chemical reactions that occur in the brain. Because of these experiences, the chemical activity

Mental illnesses lead to more disability than any other chronic illnesses and contribute significantly to the burden of diseases worldwide; moreover, the number of patients with mental illnesses and co-occurring physical illnesses are on the rise (SAMHSA, 2012; WHO, 2011). To meet this challenge, more psychiatric nurses with appropriate mental health training are needed, especially in the United States and China. Psychiatric-mental health nurses work with individuals and families to assess their mental health needs, diagnose mental disorders, and offer a range of treatment plans and services. The misconceptions and the neglect of Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing (PMHN) in nursing education curricula make the recruitment of nurses for

Pennsylvania Mentor’s Lehigh Valley location provides Intensive Case Management (ICM) / Resource Coordination (RC) service, Family Based Mental Health Services and Certified Peer Support Services (CPS). Although these three programs are different, they all provide services to their clients in the home and in the community. ICM/RC’s help their clients with scheduling and following through with medical and mental health appointment, navigating social security and public welfare system, finding employment and utilizing community resources. Family Based Mental Health offers intensive mental health treatment to children who have a mental health diagnosis while other providing services to their families. The CPS program help’s clients meet their recovery goals through the support of an individual who also has a mental health diagnosis.

The term mental illness is used to describe a disorder that causes a person to express themselves differently, this may be through their behaviour or thinking (WHO, 2016). According to the BBC website at least 1 in 4 people will be affected by a mental illness, and this could be triggered by an event or some trauma in their life (BBC, 2016). Mental health problems can trigger a mental illness, for most people the signs of mental health deterioration do not develop into a full mental illness, this is because some are people are better at coping or dealing with situations such as death (ASPA, 2013). Normality and abnormality are used to define the behaviour of a person, normality is defined as a person that shows no signs of a mental illness and is able to function, can deal with stressful situations, is capable of forming relationships and they find it easy to fit into society. Abnormality is the opposite and is defined as a person who is not classed as part of the norm, they often find it difficult to function and their behaviour may be viewed as unusual. As with the two case studies that I chose both suffered, they were either told or felt that as though they didn’t fit into society due to their disorder (Cardwell and Flanagan, 2005).

Mental health is very important to many people in and around this country. Millions of Americans live with various types of mental illness and mental health problems. Treatment options often include medication and psychotherapy. There are several categories of mental illness to include personality disorders, mood disorders, neurodevelopmental disorders, anxiety disorders, trauma and stressor related disorders, psychotic disorders and many more. Many of these disorders can be referenced in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5, APA, 2013). DSM is the most universal of modern classification systems for mental disorders. These are used by clinicians, therapist, social workers and other social service professionals to assess and assist in diagnosing individuals with various symptoms that meet the criteria of a diagnosis. So many people deal with the symptoms of mental illness and never are able to tell their story.

The courts of New South Wales have responded to the issue of individuals suffering from mental illness under the Mental Health (Forensic Provisions Act) 1990 (NSW) by setting out different courts control and maintain criminal proceedings in cases where the defendant is defined to have a mental illness and also facades mental illness to be a legal defence in criminal related cases, as well as with forensic and correctional patients. Forensic patients are defined as an individual who is confined in an institution or released from custody prone to decisions whereas, a correctional patient is an individual currently on demand or serving a term of imprisonment who is transferred to an institution. An example in relation to court processes being where the District and Supreme courts have the authority to decide if the accused is ‘not guilty due to mental illness’ or ‘not fit to plead.’ Though the concern being if the question as to whether their mental disorder even makes them unfit to stand trial or ‘not guilty by reason of mental illness’, has been raised, the courts may attribute them to the Mental health Review Tribunal. Whereas the Local Court in New South Wales does not deal with individuals in criminal cases who are ‘not fit to plead’ however the magistrate can deal with an individual who is mentally ill by releasing the defendant or referring them to a psychiatric unit with the recommendations from health care professionals.

The experiences of LGBTQ+ persons are always different. In many homes, especially homes of faith, and oftentimes homes in the southern parts of the United States of America, being a part of the LGBTQ+ community can be dangerous to reveal. In fact, for many people, young and old, it may seem like the best option is to stay in the closet. However, this in and of itself can be harmful to one’s mental health. The harm that can be done in many homes of faith, and specifically speaking in the southern United States, homes of Christian faith, parents deem their children as deviant, unworthy of God’s love, and indecisive. The pain that children, teens, and adults can go through after coming out to unsupportive loved ones is insurmountable. To those identifying with the LGBTQ+ community, it is often seen that the best option is neither to come out, or to not come out –– in the former, coming out to an unsupportive family can be dangerous in that resources and support may be lost completely; however, in the latter, not coming out is a terrible mental strain on those who identify as not heterosexual. In the documentary For the Bible Tells Me So people of Christian faith are shown discussing LGBTQ+ people in the church, and how their religious beliefs have shaped their views on people who are LGBTQ+. In most cases, unless families experience a loved one who is LGBTQ+ themselves, the views are negative and harmful. The main families of the documentary spoke eloquently about the