Mental Illness And Its Effects On A Person 's Life

Forget all the stereotypes of mental illness. It has no face. It has no particular victim. Mental illness can affect an individual from any background and the black community is no exception. African Americans sometimes experience even more severe forms of mental health conditions because of unmet needs and barriers to treatment. According to the Office of Minority Health, African Americans are 20 percent more likely to experience serious mental health problems than the general population. That’s why UGA third year Majenneh Sengbe is taking action as the co-founder of her upcoming organization Black Minds Daily.

The United States is a frontrunner in global topics such as women’s rights and environmental issues. However, when discussing mental illness the United States chooses to look at the subject in a mindset that is stuck in the 1950’s using the “don’t ask don’t tell” policy. The federal government has only begun to recently talk about mental illness and its effects in the media. Yet, when they do this they choose to cover topics such as ‘gun rights’ with mental illness, while the real topic of conversation is the future treatment for those with mental illness, and how the United States plans on eliminating the stigma that surrounds mental health.

Mental illness refers to many disorders that affect your mood, thinking, and behaviour. There are many different types of mental illnesses with different severities such as depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, eating disorders, and addictive behaviour. Having a mental illness is so common in Canada, 1 in 5 people encounter some degree of it. Many of your friends and family may be suffering from some form of mental illness without you knowing it. This can be because it is at a very early and week stage, they are on their medication, or they are doing a good job at hiding it from you. People often hide their illness to prevent being judged and treated differently from their loved ones. This can be a problem as their illness could worsen and cause long term irreversible damages. Some of our society doesn’t respect people with mental illnesses as before, people with this illness were called crazy and they were told they had a disease. This may be a reason people still don’t feel comfortable telling people close to them.

Mental illnesses are generally characterized by changes in mood, thought, or behavior. They can make daily activities difficult and impair a person’s ability to work, interact with family, and fulfill other major life functions (SAMHSA, 2015). Contemplated early on in history, treatments for mental illness looked to cure the reflections of the anger of gods, demonic possession, sorcery, the evil eye, or an angry deity, responded with equally mystical, and brutal treatments (Nash, 2007). Attempts to treat mental illness date back as early as 5000 BCE as verified by the discovery of trephined skulls in regions of ancient world cultures (Porter, 2002, p. 10). Only a few realized that individuals with mental illness should be treated humanely rather than exorcised, punished, or banished. Psychiatry has come a long way since the days patients were shunned from society and shackled in asylums. Experiments and techniques for treating mental illness from ancient times to the turn of the 20th century have paved the way for the treatment plans used today.

Involuntary psychiatric commitment has been like a pendulum, sometimes in favor as a government policy to treat mental illness, and other times not. Mental illness treatment has been evolving throughout history. Society once believed that mental illness was due to a reversed to an animalistic level of consciousness, possession of demons, a sinful soul, or a chemical imbalance. The medical journal Nature and Genetics, recently reported that, a defect in chromosome number six which has been identified for schizophrenia could also be responsible1. As doctors, counselors, courts seem to understand mental illness better, the question presents itself, does the government have the right or obligation to confine and treat an individual without their consent.

Mental illness can affect anyone; it does not discriminate when it comes to age, gender or ethnicity. Mental illness is a condition that has an impact on a person’s way of thinking, their mood and in many cases; it affects an individual’s ability to cope with daily routines and with others. When I was younger, I would laugh and make fun of people with mental illness, I considered these individuals to be nothing more than crazy homeless people that “acted out” to get attention. The streets of Detroit have been plagued with people suffering from mental illness. However, due to budget cuts and downsizing, these individuals no longer receive the medical and psychological care that they need, and most, if not all of the mental health care facilities

Mental illnesses affect tons of people, but that shouldn’t affect how you treat them. Everyone deserves your respect and admiration no matter what they’re mental state is. Imagine how you would feel if just because you were a little different everyone judged you and didn’t listen to or respect you. That wouldn’t make you feel too great, would it? Nearly everyone would say no, because want to be heard and respected.

Millions of people have some kind of mental disorder, but most don’t get the help they need because as long as they can walk and talk, nothing seems to be wrong with them. Mental illness encompasses Depression, Anxiety and Panic Disorder, Schizophrenia, and many other sicknesses of the brain.

The referral for this evaluation requested a conclusion about the presence of a mental illness at the time of the offense, as well as an analysis as to whether that mental illness had the effect of rendering Ms. Walters incapable of knowing or understanding the nature and quality of his or her act and of distinguishing right from wrong at the time of the commission of the offense.

Although, those with these illnesses are as likely to be violent as everyone else, the rest of the population still believes the stigma to be true, because of how it is presented in the media and in society. This stigma destroys the person’s self-esteem, and makes it harder for them to cope with their disability. People who suffer from mental illnesses are just like everyone else, and need to be treated like everyone else.

Mental disorders are a result of different problems associated with the brain, and each problem has various symptoms. These disorders of the brain are normally characterized by different factors that are combined, such as emotions, relationships, behavior and abnormal thoughts. There are many reasons why mental disorders affect people, including family history and genes, life pressures and habits. Other factors like a history of drug abuse, stress, biology, a traumatic brain injury, exposure to toxic chemicals while pregnant, and even cancer may lead to mental disorders. Some examples of mental disorders include drug-related disorders, bipolar disorder or depression disorders, schizophrenia, intellectual disorders and disabilities, and

“Mental Health is one of the fasting growing health problems we are facing around the world. Mental illness affects at least on in four people at some time in their lives. Mental illness conditions are broken down into several conditions as described by the World Health Organization (WHO) European Ministerial Conference. Mental Health conditions are but not limited to depression, anxiety, alcohol use disorders, Alzheimer’s, dementia, schizophrenia, bi poplar and panic disorders. Mental Health is a well-researched diagnosis, much is known about what works in mental health care and treatment and how to prevent mental disorders and support well-being, but many people receive little or no treatment or support for their mental health diagnosis. Therefore, in during a disaster the mental ill are confused and less

Everyone is different in society. There are special individuals, which are affected by mental health illnesses. Mental health issues can affect society both negatively and positively. There are cultures that treat these individuals like the reincarnations of gods. On the other side, there are cultures that isolate these individuals and look for cures to these pathologies. Mental health illnesses are important because they have to be studied to understand their cause, whether it may be biological or environmental. These issues are important because like every type of illness they have to be delicately studied, focusing on treatments to either cure them or reduce the symptoms of the pathology. These people were either conflicted with the ideals of society or they were praised by it. Cultures, which didn’t accept them, closed them up into asylums. Patients inside these facilities were brutally used as guinea pigs for their experiments. The way these people were treated shows how cruel and ignorant people were to the unknown. By learning from histories mistakes we can move forward in improving our society and achieve greatness.

It is in natural to feel sympathy for those struggling around us. Whether someone is struggling on schoolwork or contemplating suicide, it is typical to feel pity for their situation. As a result, society works towards helping those who struggle with worse mental health through various resources such as counseling or psychopharmaceuticals. The majority of society believes that treatment for those with mental illness is beneficial to the society. However, Eric G. Wilson, the Thomas H. Pritchard Professor of English at Wake Forest University and leading expert in the relationships tying literature and psychology, believes that that melancholia is over treated. In this way, he claims that the creativity and freedom of individuals in society is obstructed. Though it is in human nature that people long for happiness, the benefits of struggle are largely ignored by humanity. In this respect, Eric G. Wilson provides a strong argument to his audience, mainly by means of using language, that they should withdraw from their current, excessive treatment of melancholia.

Bill Clinton once stated, “Mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of, but stigma and bias shame us all.” Mental illness comes with multiple influences towards the daily life of an individual. On one hand, these individuals must try to manage the symptoms that arise with their disease. Mental health disorders can affect the way individuals perform at their jobs, their social life, and even being able to live alone (Corrigan & Penn, 1997). On the other hand, the way society tends to view mental illnesses leads to stigma and discrimination, unreasonably causing the same individuals to end up without a chance at work, denied by society, and deprived of independent living.