Mental Illness And Its Effects

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.

Mental illness has similar and equally detrimental symptoms to physical illness. It touches the lives of everyone, whether you are affected by it personally, or have a friend and/or family member suffering from one. Approximately one in five adults suffers from a mental disorder each year (NAMI, 2016). Unfortunately, no matter how real mental illness is, it has not shaken the stigma or gained the proper attention from the health care system and insurance companies it needs to be able to treat and prevent psychotic episodes. Often times, the communities idea of helping the issue is by removing the affected from society, or ignoring the problem altogether. For those afflicted with mental disorders, it has lead to discrimination, homelessness, and even suicide. As the United States seeks reform in the healthcare system, it is the perfect time to request more resources for mental health.

Untreated, they can result in a greatly lowered ability to cope with the ordinary demands of life. Mental illness can affect individuals of any age – children, adolescents, adults, and elders. Mental illness can occur in any family. Mental illnesses are more common than cancer, diabetes or heart disease. While we do not know the causes of these brain disorders, we do know that people can recover and live successful lives. (http://namimass.org/contact/who-we-are-2) Stigma erodes confidence that mental disorders are real, treatable health conditions. We have allowed stigma and a now unwarranted sense of hopelessness to erect attitudinal, structural and financial barriers to effective treatment and recovery. It is time to take these barriers

In the United States, mental illness is a topic that is severely neglected. Many individuals who suffer from illnesses including, but not limited to, schizophrenia and multiple personality disorder are routinely ignored and often do not receive the treatment needed for them to lead functional lives. According to Richard Frank and Sherry Glied, Harvard Medical School professors and co-authors, the severely mentally ill are “among the most gravely disadvantaged and stigmatized groups in the United States” (3). According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), those who are fortunate enough to have family or friends that aid them in seeking help, or those who recognize themselves that they need help and seek it on their own, often have a lot of trouble finding long-term services that can do more for them than simply provide medication

What does mental illness look like? Is it the “weird” kid at your school that everyone bullies? Or maybe the latest hair-raising movie about a psycho killer? Mental illness is constantly construed and made to seem dangerous, unnatural, and sickening. Mental illness, as defined by Mayo Clinic, is simply a “disorder that affects your mood, thinking, and behavior”(). These people, who live with mental health issues, including one out of ten teens and one out of five adults, are often treated as if it is their own fault that they are different(). From uncharged jailing to not being able to choose what is best for them to plain everyday interaction, persons with mental illness are ostracized and treated unfairly. As a country, we are failing our

About 57.7 million Americans have a diagnosable mental illness (Duverge n.p.). According to Patrick Corrigan and Amy Watson, “Stigmas about mental illness seem to be widely endorsed by the general public in the Western World” (16). This means that a large number of the people who have a mental illness are affected by the stigma surrounding mental illness, possibly in multiple ways. While some say that stigma surrounding certain drugs meant to treat mental disorders could prevent people from taking them without a reason (Roleff and Egendorf 87), many people with a mental illness are negatively affected by the stigma. The stigma surrounding mental illness in society can worsen the lives of the mentally ill and lessen the number of people being

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.

What does mental illness look like? Is it the “weird” kid at school that everyone bullies? Or maybe the latest hair-raising movie about a psycho killer? Mental illness is constantly construed and made to seem dangerous, unnatural, and sickening. Mental illness, as defined by Mayo Clinic, is simply a “disorder that affects your mood, thinking, and behavior”(Hall-Flavin). These people, who live with mental health issues, including one out of ten teens and one out of five adults, are often treated as if they are outcasts or different("Mental Health Myths and Facts."). From uncharged jailing to not being able to choose what is best for them to plain everyday interaction, persons with mental illness are ostracized and treated unfairly. As a

It is estimated that 43.5 million Americans, adults 18 or older, live with mental illness. This number represents 18.1% of all U.S. adults (National Institute of Mental Health, 2014). Stigma toward those who are seen as different have existed for as long as civilization itself, with the stigma for mental illness being one of the most prominent and long lasting that society has had to face throughout its ages (Arboleda-Florez & Stuart, 2012). Increased understanding and awareness for those individuals suffering from mental illness is necessary for us to overcome the impacts stigma has on our society.

Mental Illnesses have plagued our society for centuries. In fact, it is a more common disease than people realize, “Approximately 1 in 5 adults in the U.S.—43.8 million, or 18.5%—experiences mental illness in a given year.” (Nami, org). Despite the prevalence of mental illnesses, the stigmas associated with them are still very strong to this day, this is a result of the deinstitutionalization of mental healthcare facilities. Many Americans who suffer from mental Illness do not receive treatment, “Only 41% of adults in the U.S. with a mental health condition received mental health services in the past year. Among adults with a serious mental illness, 62.9% received mental health services in the past year”

People that suffer from mental illnesses are often thought to have drawn the short hand in life. Not only must they experience the hardships that many go through from day to day, but they must do so with a whole new layer of issues that are no walk in the park. On top of everything, they have to mull over the different methods of coping with their condition. From “talk therapy” to drowning in medications, all are temporary solutions to a major issue that has been plaguing humanity for as long as history can record. What about this situation could possibly be changed? One viewpoint theorizes that a lack of public awareness about mental health is the greatest downfall when it comes to treatment options. Another point of view states that a lack

Like most of you guys mentioned, the most impressive idea that stayed with me is once you are diagnosed with mental illness, you are first a psychiatric, and no matter what you do, other people will interpret your action through a psychiatric lens. According to Pat’s story, mental health professionals perceive individuals with mental illness as a disease rather than a person. They simply treat patient’s disagreement as a further proof of their mental illness. All of those professionals’ words and actions can erode patient’s hope on recovery and their future. They may start to believe that they are really ‘badly ill’ and cannot go back to their normal life, which can have negative influence on personal recovery. Through this week’s readings

Large medical advances have been made and presently, we, as a society, are able to better treat mental illnesses that can accurately be diagnosed. Consequently, it seems that there is a much larger prevalence and awareness of such diseases as one study reports that 1 in 5 adults in America experience a mental illness (Mental Health By The Numbers” np). Fortunately, resources are readily available for these individuals, that display the many options for treatment, such as therapies and medications, while allowing for them to preserve their anonymity (“Treatments for Mental Disorders” np). But despite having such easily accessible treatments, “nearly 60% of adults with a mental illness didn’t receive mental health services in the previous year” (“Mental Health By The Numbers” np). This refusal of potentially life changing remedies illustrates the obvious fear these individuals still face, the fear of invalidation and in the eyes of doctors, one most likely instilled in them by the widespread torture brought upon mentally ill patients in the past. These long gone practices still shape the way people interpret mental illnesses from both medical and social

You’re walking down the street, passing hundreds of people as you go. Do you ever stop and think that every single person walking past you has their own story and their own daily struggles? Even the person next to you may have something about themselves that they have never told anyone. A statistic from the National Institute of Mental Health, or NIMH, stated that in 2010 7.4% of the population had some sort of mental or behavioral disorder. This means that around 510,600,000 people suffered from some form of mental or behavioral disorder in 2010 alone. Now, with all this information we must first ask, what is a mental illness?