Mental Illness And Comorbidity Essay

Students in the classroom come from a variety of backgrounds. Their lives are shaped by their families, their communities, but also their peers in school whom they will spend hours a day with throughout their educational career. The ability to form relationships with others, to create lasting friendships that grow and evolve with time, is detrimental to all children and their development. Lacking the ability to do so, whether it is directly because of their conditions or because of how other students perceive them, can dramatically harm them emotionally and mentally.

The following essay will begin by demonstrating what is understood by the concept of mental health. It will attempt to identify different explanations for the underlying issues causing mental illnesses and it will then centre around a case study focusing specifically on one mental health problem. A description of what the causes and effects of the chosen illness will be given and information on the available treatment will be presented. To round up the assignment a brief explanation of the chosen case study will be included with an attempt to distinguish the common issues identified and how they relate to the literature information provided throughout. In this assignment, the case study chosen will target depression.

One of the biggest contributors for poor healthcare is the stigma against mental health. This stigma allows healthcare providers to view those with a mental illness as having low relevance, thus creating disinclination towards providing adequate resources and/or care. This negative stance, based on misinformation and prejudice creates those that have a mental illness to lose their self confidence. Because of this loss, people with mental illness decide not to contribute to their health or livelihood. In the past fifty years, many advances have been made in mental healthcare. However, with the attached stigma, many people choose to not seek out treatment.

This unit aims to provide the learner with knowledge of the main forms of mental health problems according to the psychiatric classification system. Learners also consider the strengths and limitations of this model and look at alternative frameworks for understanding mental distress. The focus of the unit is on understanding the different ways in which mental health problems impact on the individual and others in their social network. It

Mental illness is quickly becoming more and more common. There was a time when Americans never even knew many of the different mental illnesses and disorders were out there, and now it seems like everyone has one. This is because mental illness is overdiagnosed and there are statistics to prove this. The numbers of people being diagnosed with depression or anxiety has increased dramatically, along with ADHD. According to a survey that was done between 2001 and 2003, “46% of Americans met the standards of having a mental illness. These standards were from the American Psychiatric Association and the study was conducted by the National Institute of Mental Health” (Levine 2). That's almost half of Americans. There is no way that many of us have a mental disorder, and this is because they are taking normal behavior that everyone feels, and blowing it out of the water.

Mental health patients are often shunned and experience discrimination by mental health professionals due to the social stigma attached to them. Though, healthcare system is a place where mental health patients should be dealt with kindness and compassion so that their disorder or disease is well treated. Shunning and neglecting attitude by mental health professionals is not very uncommon because they are not very optimistic about the results of the mentally ill patients (McDaid, 2008).

As of now, there is no general consensus that would require states to cover mental health (Cauchi, Landess, & Thangasamy 2011). Out of the 49 states that do cover mental illness, there are three main categories that vary considerably; mental health “parity” or equal coverage laws, minimum mandated mental health benefit laws, and mental health “mandated offering laws.” Mental illness is as serious a condition as any other health condition. It should be covered as such. Mental health parity has come a long way over the years. With health care reform underway, this issue is bound to come up. Hopefully the reform can enact a program that will lead to more mental health parity.

Co-occurring mental health disorders (MHD) and substance abuse disorders (SUD) are increasingly prevalent in youth. According to Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), nearly 1.3 million adolescents ages 12-17 years old had a SUD in 2014 (2014). Co-occurring MHD and SUD can limit one’s ability to function in everyday life. MHD alone can compromise judgement and behavior (SAMHSA, 2014). Substance abuse may worsen or trigger symptoms of MHD in adolescents. Youth that are diagnosed with a MHD are twice more likely to develop a SUD than the general population (Anthony, Taylor, & Raffo, 2010). An estimated 21% of adolescents in the United States have a diagnosable MHD or SUD that affects their ability to function daily (SAMHSA, 2011).

Comprehensive Mental Health Services (CMHS) is an organization in Kansas City, Missouri dedicated to serving those with mental illnesses, ranging from both low- to high-functioning. This group has a for-profit and non-profit side. The for-profit side utilizes doctors, nurses, and a pharmacy to aide in the non-profit side. Case workers, therapists, addiction recovery, and group homes are all funded via the organization. With diverse staff involvement, CMHS has a multitude of positions ranging from full-time salary doctors, to full-time hourly case workers, to volunteers. Volunteers vary between other organizations that CMHS collaborates with, including Harvester’s food pantry, and even patients who want to donate their time to some of the less-fortunate. While those with mental illnesses are oppressed, this report is not about their oppression, rather their open-mindedness on the oppression of those around them.

Researchers Christina Borba, Lara DePadilla, Benjamin Druss, Frances McCarty, Silke Esenwein, and Claire Sterk conducted a study about women with serious mental illnesses. Using the National Institute of Mental Health study, the researchers used randomized groups to gather information. By using specific questions about the lives of women with a serious mental illness, the researchers were then able to categorize the main themes that impacts women living with a serious mental illness. The observations were then used to inform mental health professionals the complexity of women living with serious mental illness and how to improve their life by taking a contextual approach to the treatment of their mental illness.

Imagine a world where a third of the human population suffered from the same type of illness. Imagine a world where the government does little to help those who suffer from this terrible illness. Imagine a world where nobody acknowledged the pain and suffering that comes along with this illness. This is, unfortunately, the world we live in today. The illness is not one that others notice, but it can have terrible consequences to those who suffer from it. The type of illness are the ones that plague people mentally.

From time-to-time, all individuals feel a sense of anxiety, but these nervous emotions are a normal and common response to the ongoing occurrences and challenges faced in our society. A high level of anxiety and stress can affect an individual’s complete mental and physical state of being, which can ultimately make it extremely difficult to focus, preventing one’s ability to make smart and calculated choices. This often results in feelings of frustration and an inability to control their primary emotions, resulting in an overall lack of positive behavior and a sense of humor. An individual can often attribute these feelings and behavioral characteristics to the actions that others project upon them. Anxiety, depression, and cognitive impairment are three of the most pressing mental disorders facing Americans today (Golden, 2014). Depression is a debilitating mental health issue and is a common occurrence facing populations around the world. Mechanic (2016) claims that individuals experiencing depression are progressively being treated without a diagnosis and with an antidepressant medication rather than attending psychotherapy. Many experience this mood disorder that involves constant sadness, lack of social engagement, losing interest in vital aspects of life, and ultimately resulting in the fluctuation between severe depression and extreme happiness. It is this categorization of illnesses that results in quick and constant

I was an RA when I was in college, so I am no stranger to the signs and symptoms of mental health issues. In my eighty-person dorm I ‘talked a girl off a ledge,’ dealt with alcoholism and drug abuse, and was there for countless nights of tears brought on by homesickness and hazing. However, in all my time as an undergraduate, the one issue that plagued my friend group and the young women on my campus the most was something I had never encountered until I stepped foot on my college campus. It was abstract, something that only affected the characters in TV shows and celebrities featured in gossip magazines. Then, it became the norm, though unspoken, hidden behind the veil of health and perfection. There are four young women who have played a key role in my life over the last six years. All four of them have eating disorders, none of which are the same. While the more traditional eating disorders, Anorexia Nervosa (AN) and Bulimia Nervosa (BN), are most often associated with fat-phobias, Orthorexia Nervosa (ON) is most linked to food choices and is perpetuated by environmental pressures like social media image and identity. Scientists know little about ON. By defining orthorexia as an eating disorder, however, we can explore new research opportunities by using what we know about the correlation between AN and BN with a single-nucleotide polymorphism in the OXTR oxytocin receptor gene and epigenetic regulation that same gene.

Soumerai, S. B., Mclaughlin, T. J., Ross-Degnan, D., Casteris, C. S., & Bollini, P. (1994). Effects of Limiting Medicaid Drug-Reimbursement Benefits on the Use of Psychotropic Agents and Acute Mental Health Services by Patients with Schizophrenia. New England Journal of Medicine,331(10), 650-655. doi:10.1056/nejm199409083311006

Individuals with serious mental illness are doubly affected by their disease; not only do they experience the often debilitating symptoms of their condition, but they must also endure mundane mental health stigmas and prejudices. Stigmatized attitudes are perceived to be one of the greatest impediments to living a complete and fulfilling life. Stigma has been defined as a combination of three related problems: ignorance, prejudice and discrimination (Rose, Thornicroft, Pinfold, & Kassam, 2007). Ignorance implies a lack of knowledge, prejudice entails negative attitudes, and discrimination involves exclusionary actions against people deemed to be different. Two forms of stigma are commonly distinguished in literature. Public stigma describes the attitudes of society towards people with mental illness, while self-stigma results from the internalization of prejudice by people who suffer from mental health conditions (Corrigan, Powell, & Rüsch, 2012). The World Health Organization announced that stigma was the most crucial obstacle to overcome for a community to functioning effectively and efficiently (Ontario Hospital Association, 2013).