Essay on Mental Illness and Society

As Americans it becomes natural to undermine those with a mental illness. As a fact, many adults and children deal with mental illness each and everyday. There are many stories that have been told to Americans about depression, anxiety, along with bipolar disorders, with the outcome usually being a negative consequence. For the 1 in every 5 citizens that deal with a mental illness each year. Americans have neglected the fact that many adults and children deal with mental issue(s), the citizens that refrain from getting help; their well being can suffer detrimental effects, there is not a lot of awareness either taught in school, or in public perspectives, American’s stigma has perfected their

Within this unit I will be showing my past and learnt knowledge of the main forms of mental health problems according to the psychiatric classification system. I will be looking at the strengths, Limitations and alternative frameworks for understanding mental health. I will also demonstrate ways in which mental health problems can and do impact the individual and there social network.

It not easy to determine how many people suffer from mental illness. This is due to the changing definitions of mental illness and problems classifying, diagnosing, and reporting mental disorders. There are social stigmas attached to mental illness, such as being labeled "crazy," being treated as a danger to others, and being denied jobs or health insurance coverage. These negative connotations keep many sufferers from seeking help, and many of those in treatment do not reveal it on surveys. Some patients do not realize that their symptoms are caused by mental disorders. Even though more is being learned about how the brain works a lot of information has still yet to be discovered, thus mental health professionals must continually reevaluate how mental illnesses are defined and diagnosed. The Surgeon General 's report estimated that roughly 20% of the United States population was affected by mental disorders and that 15% use some type of mental health service every year. Community surveys estimate about 30% of the adult population in the United States suffer from mental disorders.

Although about 450 million people in the world currently are suffering from a mental illness, many untreated, the topic still remains taboo in modern society (Mental Health). For years, people with mental illnesses have been shut away or institutionalized, and despite cultural progression in many areas, mental illnesses are still shamed and rarely brought to light outside of the psychiatric community. The many different forms in which mental illness can occur are incredibly prevalent in the world today, and there is a substantial debate about the way that they should be handled. Some people are of the opinion that mental illness is merely a variance in perception and that it either can be fixed through therapy or should not be treated at

Mental health has been a recurring topic in present society and it is a very large section of health care in general. Health can be termed as an absence of disease, but it really is much more than that and should encompass every facet of the human, mind and body. The WHO defines mental health as a state of well-being in which an individual can function properly and productively, cope with life stressors, and contribute to community. Mental health is dependent on many factors, mainly social, biological, and psychological (WHO). A mental disorder is a condition of alterations

The ‘medical model’ (Beecher, 2009), also called the ‘biomedical model’ (Germov, 2009), basis its beliefs on the theory that there is not a connection between the mind and the body (Sarafino & Smith, 2014) and illness is caused by ‘biological’ (Germov, 2009) factors that can be diagnosed and treated with medications (Germov, 2009). The biomedical model becomes problematic when applied to the treatment of mental health illness due to the cause being widely unknown and so how can mental illness be successfully treated using this model? Social factors that may have a contributory effect or allowance for preventative measures to be implemented are also not taken into consideration with the ‘medical model’ (Germov,

One of the main arguments for mental and physical wellbeing receiving the same funding and attention is that mental health can impact physical health drastically (and vice versa). There are various ways in which bad mental health has been shown to be harmful to physical health, mental issues account for 23% of burdening diseases in the UK, these issues also have a dramatic effect on life expectancy. Mental illnesses such as depression and schizophrenia have been linked to heart disease and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, approximately 24 million people suffer from schizophrenia and over 350 million people have depression worldwide. People suffering from serious mental health issues also often experience high blood pressure and high levels of stress hormones therefore an

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.

The 2007 National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing Results revealed that at some stage in their lives, up to 45% of Australians will experience a mental illness, with 20% of the Australians surveyed in the 16-85 age group having experienced a mental illness within the 12 months preceding the survey

The negative stigma of mental health has lightened slightly over the years, however, it has not rescinded entirely. People still have an unmanageable time admitting that they may have a mental disorder and that they require assistance. Human beings struggle with these hindrances openly and also hidden on a daily basis. Therefore, our civilization needs to remove the shame associated with the treatment of mental disorders and work on devising a progressive suitable mental healthcare plan in order to ensure that many live a healthy, happy, and prosperous

In the United States this is not as great of an issue since mental disorders have been publicized greatly in recent years. This means there is a strong possibility America might not rank as high in mental disorders when compared to other countries. One thing all countries studied had in common is the lack of treatment in serious cases which only make matter worse. Lack of access to health care is the primary reason for under treatment also most insures do not cover mental health. Insurance companies have recently given more attention and consideration towards mental illnesses and disorders ( Shiraev & Levy 2010).

The recommendations of the Bramford Review (2006) became the much needed drive in policy change in Northern Ireland on how we view and treat mental health. Although it did not free mental health from stigma it did however bring about the recognition that mental health should be an inherent part of our policy. Despite this Northern Ireland still has the highest mental health figures in the UK, Fundamental Facts (2016) published by the Mental Health Organisation reported that Northern Ireland has a 25% higher overall prevalence of mental health problems than England. An area of concern is the rise of mental health issues amongst the younger generation, a survey carried out by the Northern Ireland Young Life and Times survey on the mental and emotional health of 16-year olds in Northern Ireland found that 29% of its respondents had serious personal emotional or mental health problems (Schubotz 2010).

Mental health problems are considered to “interfere with how a person thinks, feels and behaves” (Australian Government Department of Health, 2007, para. 3). Considered to be more prominent, yet less severe than mental illnesses, mental health problems are experienced for

The common mental disorders represent a major public health problem. The prevalence of common mental disorders varies according to the method of evaluation, either with the use of a scale or conducting an interview. The prevalence of common mental disorders is almost 25%, if it is used the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12).1 Common mental disorders are more frequent among women than men; it seems that women are more sensitive to stressors. Around the world, common mental disorders produce a negative impact on life quality of many women. However, in developing countries a significant number of women with a common mental do not ask for medical or psychological help due to the stigma attached to mental disorders.2

Mental health illnesses impact on an individual’s emotions, perceptions, behaviour and wellbeing. Prevalence refers to how common the condition is (all diagnosed cases), and as such morbidity rates are often reliable indicators for the prevalence of a particular condition. In 2011-12 there were 3 million Australians who had reported having a mental health condition (ABS 2012). This is evident of an increasing trend in the last decade, which could be reflective of a higher incidence and prevalence of these conditions, or it could reflect the community’s growing awareness of mental illnesses and the increasing social acceptability of reporting it. Mortality rates seem to have plateaued after decreasing since the peak in the late 1990s, and are far greater overall for males than females. Most deaths with an underlying effect of mental illness were due to the use/abuse of psychoactive substances such as heroin and alcohol.