Mental Illness Is A Serious Growing Issue

The medical model of treatment is an objective assessment and outcome-driven approach to recovery. This method recognizes mental illness as a disease, caused by an underlying physical condition. According to Beecher (2009), this physical element may be attributed to a disorder of the brain or central nervous system. Providers diagnose mental illness utilizing standardized classification systems, such as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) and the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), after assessing the patient’s symptoms. The management of these symptoms remains the primary focus of recovery efforts. Pharmaceutical medications and psychiatric medical care are the most commonly prescribed treatment option in the medical model (Beecher, 2009).

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.

Throughout the centuries mental illness has been treated by countless treatments. Modern treatments have created an argument over which treatment options are best. the most debates treatments today are medication and therapy. the argument of medication versus therapy as treatments for mental illness is fairly new. Yet, proponents of both sides have strong arguments stating the advantages of their treatment option. proponents of medication believe pharmacogenetics, tailored treatments, and medication's ability to treat severe disorders makes medication the better treatment option. proponents of therapy believe drug addiction, suicide prevention, and need adaption establishes therapy as the better treatment choice.

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 treatment of mental illness has gone through many reforms over the years. Stemming from some of the earliest documented cases of treatment such as trephination in 5000 B.C. to the opening of “mental” asylums starting in the late 1300s to the development of the modern healthcare system. Through the 1800s until now, major developments in mental health treatment include the evolution of the “mental” asylum, widespread psychopharmacology, and psychotherapy treatments. Primarily focusing on the treatment methods of the past two hundred or so years, the United States of America has made leaps and bounds to provide humane treatment to aid those in need.

I have read an article called "Mental Illness: The New Cancer." this articles the writer told us three sad stories about how Mental Illness has killed people he loved.

The National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI, 2015) estimates 1 in 5- 48.8- million adults in the United States are diagnosed with a mental illness each year. Amongst adolescents and children, it is estimated 1 in 5 youth ages 13-18-(21.4%) have, or will have a serious mental illness every year (NAMI, 2015). For children ages 8-15 the prevalence of experiencing a serious mental illness at one point in their life is 13% (NAMI, 2015). Although, children and adolescents are most commonly diagnosed with mood, conduct and anxiety disorders, there are those who occasionally experience psychotic disorders such as early onset schizophrenia.

In today’s society, quickly turning to the use of prescription drugs and/or psychotropic medications to help individuals who are struggling with their mental health conditions is an unfortunate act society continues to demonstrate. Unfortunately, most of society view prescription drugs and/or psychotropic medications (Anti-depressants, Antipsychotics, antidepressants, and anti-anxiety medications) as the quote-on-quote magical solutions to cure immediately individuals’ mental health conditions. In my own words, “Here is the magic pill or pills to immediately cure your mental health condition or conditions! There is no need for you to return to the doctor’s office to help address your mental health conditions in the future.” However, the quote-on-quote magic pill to cure individuals’ mental health conditions should not be the final solution.

Overall it can be concluded that the effectiveness of psychotherapy is similar or higher to what typically found in pharmacotherapy treatment of patients with these mental health conditions. The potential adverse side effects associated with medications has been one of the major reasons to encourage the clinicians to apply psychotherapy in their clinical practice. Psychotherapy has been considered as the most essential option of treatment to offer to the care users who have been suffering from these mentioned disorders (Stein, Kupfer and Schatzberg, 2005).

Most studies suggest that for major mental health disorders, a treatment approach involving both drugs and psychotherapy is more effective than either treatment method used alone.1,4 Combined treatments is relatively common, but because of biases in the fields of medicine and psychology that champion one form over another, many clinicians are not fully informed about the use of both modalities.5 In general, health care providers and patients should consider that most mental health disorders can effectively be tackled by means of both pharmacological intervention and psychological therapies.6,7,8 The decision to prescribe a psychotropic agent never implies that psychological therapies are not indicated. Consequently, health care providers should not passively consider

In today’s society the idea of mental illness has grown exponentially. To those who have various disorders, it might seem like the end of the world; however, some of these disorders can be managed quite well allowing the individual to live a somewhat normal and productive life. Mental illnesses range from childhood disorders such as ADHD all the way to disorders in the old age such as dementia. While some of these disorders are more severe than others, they all tend to impact an individual’s life in some way or in some form. One may begin asking himself how and why he has been affected by such disorders, and he can find some answers through his biological and psychological makeup. Biological factors

When treating a physical illness, the cause is typically identifiable and standard procedure requires evaluating the origin, level of severity, and treatment options. However, mental illnesses can be complex and are commonly accompanied by amalgamated origins, and unclear triggers that take time to uncover and treat. This makes the process challenging when attempting to implement treatment.

Anxiety and depression have been an ongoing issue for decades, but recently the numbers started increasing and we’re trying to figure out why. I’m sure we all wanna know why kids, teens, and adults are more depressed and anxiety ridden than they were back in 2009, right? Well, I just might have a solution to that question. Society, School, and even a neurological imbalance could very easily be blamed for the rising increase in these disorders.

This essay will analyse the statement “Mental illness is a social problem”. This essay will discuss the sociological perspective of mental health within the chosen concept of gender. The main aim of this essay is to discuss and debate ‘for’ mental illness is a social problem within the different gender roles. Gender is not only male and female, it also includes lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersexual. In Australia there is a very large community of LGBTI. This concept will be analysed by using theoretical and sociological perspectives along with the structure-agency debate. Also the biomedical and social model 's role in relation to the issue. This will help support the statement that ‘mental illness is a social problem’. It is not logical to solely to blame society for all mental illness’ however, it is a strong contributor. This essay will also explore the social contributor to the high rate of mental illness sufferers in Australia. Also, the general consensus and attitude toward individuals with mental health and the ways that mental illnesses are stitgmatised in Australia and each of its states and territories.

People with mental illness are at an increased risk of chronic diseases such as obesity and diabetes than the general population (Happell, Stanton, Hoey, & Scott, 2014). A study conducted by Bartlem et al. (2015), observed health risk behaviours that contribute to chronic disease amongst individuals with a mental illness and if they had an interest in changing them. The study focused on community mental health services and how health care providers can improve their care and implement preventative measures. The guidelines used for this critique are from the textbook written by Polit & Beck (2014).