Mental Illness And Its Effects On Society

Nordby,K. Kjonsberg, K. Hummelvoll, J.K.(2009) Relatives of persons with recently discovered serious mental illness: in need of support to become resource persons in treatment and recovery.(Appendix 1). Journal of psychiatric and mental health nursing. 17, 304-311.

The social problem I have chosen to write about is mental illness. This problem is important to talk about “because of the number of people it affects, the difficulty of defining and identifying mental disorders, and the ways in which mental illness is treated” (Kendall, 2013, p. 227). “About 57.7 million people, or one in four adults, in the United States suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder” (Kendall, 2013, p. 229). “Many of these illnesses begin in childhood or adolescence, with the most common problems being anxiety disorder, mood disorders, impulse-control disorders, and substance abuse disorders” (Kendall, 2013, p. 229). I chose this topic because I wanted to learn more about how mental illness is a social problem and I have been interested in learning more about mental illnesses and how to help people with mental disorders.

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.

Research indicates that the majority of family interventions have an educational element regarding the diagnosis and treatment of individuals struggling with mental illness (Walsh, 2011). In addition, several family educational therapies provided education on the etiology of the particular mental health disease their family member or loved one is struggling in addition to offering self-help groups, educational material, and valuable resources on coping skills. It is generally agreed upon in the mental health community that education is the most valuable tool in regards to both those who are struggling with the mental illness and those who are caring for them. It is recognized that 80 percent of treatment and management of the disease is interventions and daily

Families are often the main support system for people affected by mental illness. If a

Mental illness has had a huge impact on our society. It affects the ways we perceive others and ourselves. Mental illness has likely existed for a very long time, likely it predates humans. But in humans very long existence, we did find about mental illness rather early in history, but our grasp was not firm on what it was, mesopotamia believed it had to do with their gods, and their treatment was prayer. This knowledge was probably lost by the middle ages, as they couldn’t explain the phenomena away with gods, so they generally expressed the worst cases as witchcraft. But regardless of its importance in real life, it also plays an important role in the story the yellow wallpaper, as it shows the effect of mental disorders on people.

A huge percentage of Americans suffer from various mental illnesses. 1 in 5 adults in the US, or 18.5% of the population, will experience mental illness in a given year (NAMI). With these mental illnesses come so many difficult questions. How can we improve the lives of Americans struggling with mental illnesses? What happens if these Americans become harmful to themselves or others? And how can we help and keep their families involved? The American government as well as several organizations have been trying to tackle these issues. Congressman Tim Murphy created a bill called the Helping Families in Mental Crisis Act (H.R. 2426) that seeks to “fix the nation’s broken

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, “1 in 4 adults live with a serious mental illness (Ken).” This means that in American there are almost 62 million people suffering from mental illness (Mayo Clinic). With that being said, only a small portion of the United States’ healthcare budget is used to fund mental health related research and facilities. Sarah Kliff, journalist for the Washington Post, reported, “…about 5.6 percent of the national health-care spending, according to a 2011 paper in the journal Health Affairs (Sarah).” Kliff also expressed that the United States has a budget of $113 billion dollars annually to spend on healthcare. Consequently, that means that only 6.3 billion dollars are spent on mental health issues every year. This is a staggering number consider that roughly 25% of the United States’ population is living with a serious mental illness (Sarah) Due to the large portion of American’s living with serious mental illnesses it directly impacts family communication. To get a better understand on family communication and mental illness this paper will discuss what a mental illness, communication symptoms of mental illness, how to improve mental illness, as well as communicating options for help with your loved one.

IFS will offer module courses which address the 15 principles in working with families of persons who have a mental illness (Dixion et al., 2001). The module courses will include, but will not be limited to: mental illness education, medication education, visiting a family member at an inpatient facility, keeping a family together through building communication skills and addressing the feelings of loss, discharge support, coping skills, problem-solving techniques, and crisis management (Dixion et al.,

Working in the field of mental health, I have come to realize that mental and behavioral illness is common and almost everyone is affected in the United States. Caregivers offer service to people who are not capable of performing or going through their daily routines or activities because of their physical disabilities or an illness (Gouin, Estrela, Desmarais, & Barker, 2016). A coping system for dealing with mentally ill patients vary from one family to another for different of reasons.

According to the World Health Organization estimation, mental disorders constitute 14% of the global burden of disease and the overall prevalence rate of mental disorders in India is 10-12%. It is estimated that about 80% to 90% of the mental disorders are not diagnosed and often go untreated, due to the negative attitudes people hold regarding mental illness. Lack of knowledge plays a role in this as well. In Indian culture, the family is regarded as the most important structure in caring for vulnerable family members. It is estimated that approximately 90%, of those diagnosed will live with their families. These caregivers provide the basic needs of care, such as housing and financial aid, as well as other day to day needs, on behalf of their mentally ill family members. Family caregivers monitor the mental state of their loved ones, identify the early signs of illness, relapse and deterioration, and help the patient in accessing services. Still, some participants’ hold negative perceptions such as that, the mentally ill are to blame for their condition, and that they are not capable of working or to maintaining friendships. Negative attitudes of participants regarding social participation of mentally ill in the community, has also been revealed by the current study. Many participants in the study admitted that they would be ashamed, if people knew that someone in their family, had been diagnosed with mental illness. They

The leading cause of disability in the United States is mental disorders (Kaakinen, Coehlo, Steele, Tabacco, & Harmon-Hanson, 2015). According to the National Institute of Mental Health (n.d.) in 2014, there were approximately 43.6 million Americans, eighteen years of age or older, with a mental health condition meeting the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition criteria. These statistics shed light on the importance of nurses caring for the family as a unit. The purpose of the post is to discuss the benefits and barriers to incorporating the family into the care of a family member, newly diagnosed with a mental health condition.

Many mental illnesses place a burden not only on community resources but also will have a negative impact on the functions of the individual and their families (Kaakinen, Coehlo, Steele, Tabacco, & Hanson, 2015). My nursing school rotation in mental health, situations were often observed where patients did better when their immediate family was present and actively engaged in their care. Nursing and other professionals roles are to understand the value and impact of how a family’s affection, emotional support, and active involvement can help boost the recovery process of a family member with a mental illness (Kaakinen et al., 2015). An active and participating family can provide vital information that can help the health professional plan appropriate care and provide interventions in a manner costumed to that individual.

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.

Mental illness is a health condition that affects an individual’s moods and thinking in a way that changes how that person relates to other people in society. The functioning of the affected person is also altered and usually results in the person failing to perform some of the daily activities that the person has previously engaged in. Mental illness can be considered a combination of both social and health complications, affecting the social life of the people who fall victim in many ways (Elliott & Huizinga, 2012). There are some health complications that are also experienced with mental disorders. It is also important to note that medical attention forms part of the therapies that try to correct or control this condition. More recently most concern has been on the fact that mental illness is a major social problem in the world (Gonzalez & Rosenheck, 2014).