Personal Perspective On Mental Illness

I’ve always been passionate about understanding others; stepping into their shoes and seeing, thinking, and appreciating the lives they live. I think it is important to take that extra step and see things from a different point of view. It is the only way to achieve a true understanding. I believe in this philosophy so much so, that it’s one of the main reasons I have this blog; to give others a glimpse of a life with mental illness. I’ve been in treatment for 2 months and 26 days and I think it’s time for another peek into my brain.

To understand what mental illness is you have to know what it means. Mental health is the state of our well-being. Mental health has to do with the mind. According to thefreedictionary.com mental health is “a state of emotional and psychological well-being in which an individual is able to use his or her cognitive and emotional capabilities, function in society, and meet the ordinary demands of everyday life”. Mental illness are behavioral, psychological, and emotional disorders that effect the mind. Mental illness is not something that should be avoided. There many different types of mental illnesses. There are also mental healthcare services that can help people with their mental illnesses.

The following essay will begin by demonstrating what is understood by the concept of mental health. It will attempt to identify different explanations for the underlying issues causing mental illnesses and it will then centre around a case study focusing specifically on one mental health problem. A description of what the causes and effects of the chosen illness will be given and information on the available treatment will be presented. To round up the assignment a brief explanation of the chosen case study will be included with an attempt to distinguish the common issues identified and how they relate to the literature information provided throughout. In this assignment, the case study chosen will target depression.

My words arrived in the soft, piercing voice of my aunt, “Don’t be surprised if she turns out crazy like her mother.” My twelve year old self may have agreed, my own worry and uneducated thoughts wreaking havoc and rearing their ugly teeth, but this me, this educated and wiser me, was merely infuriated. Through all my mother’s being, she has never once been crazy. Crazy, such a harsh, uneducated word, that should never be used in the context referring to one with mental illness, yet it is still in rampant use. Mental illness is just that, an illness, and it should be treated as such. My mother is sick, which I have explained a million times, her label is firmly stamped on, never willing to loosen; bipolar disorder is what it boldly

According to NAMI, The National Alliance of Mental Illness 1 in 5 adults experience a mental health condition yearly. 1 in 20 people live with a serious mental illness like, schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Not only does the person who is directly experiencing a mental illness suffer, but the family, and friends are also highly affected. NAMI states that 50% of mental health conditions begin by age 14 and 75% of mental illnesses develop by age 24. Each year, 1 in 5 children from the ages 13-18 experiences a mental illness reported by NAMI. That’s a large amount of our young generation. Three out of four people with a mental illness report that they have experienced stigma, a mark of disgrace that sets a person apart according to the

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.

When the phrase “mental illness” is spoken, the immediate thought that pops into the individual’s mind is the extremes such as Schizophrenia, or Bipolar Disorder. However, the majority of mental disorders fall into the spectrum of quite common disorders such as Depression, Anxiety, or Obsessive Compulsion Disorder (OCD). Why should the first thing that people think of be negative? What makes people think this way? Society has a negative view of mental illness because of media portrayal, the attitudes of individuals, and skepticism, and the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, makes a connection to these views of the world.

It is difficult for anyone to deal with strange thinking and bizarre and unpredictable behavior. Imagine what it must be for families of people with mental illness. It is bewildering, frightening and exhausting. Even when the person is stabilized on medication, the apathy and lack of motivation can be frustrating. A mother mentions how her daughter, when asked to put her clothes in the closet, looked at the freshly pressed blouses for over an hour before making a move to hang them up. What was a matter of routine for this young woman in the past, now seemed to take an inordinate amount of time. Even though the parent knew it was not so, she had to fight the feeling that her daughter was deliberately not doing this one, small task.

Mental Illness is usually a broader and more inclusive term than Insanity. Insanity is usually reserved for describing severe conditions involving psychotic-like breaks with reality, while Mental Illness can include both severe and milder forms of mental problems (such as anxiety disorders and mild depressions) (p 1).

Despite the recent advancements in education and medical care, mental illness continues to thrive in modern society, destroying the lives of an estimated 60 million individual worldwide, which is precisely what Lexi Lyon discusses in Sustaining the Stigma, where she implores that healthy individuals around the world recognize the real and detrimental affects that mental health has. Unlike other health diagnoses, mental illnesses are not openly discussed nor does the majority of society accept it as a real health issue. Lyon explains that the culmination of false stereotypes, prejudice, and a lack of understanding have led to the perpetuation of ill-willed treatment toward those who suffer from illnesses that affect an individual’s way of thinking,

Lori Schiller’s story of her struggles battling mental illness is frightening yet inspiring. Lori’s childhood was incredibly normal if not better than the norm. She grew up in a very affluent, wealthy family that were also very loving and supporting. Lori was also a straight A student that was accepted to some of the best universities in the country. Many people have the notion that mental illness only happens to children from bad families or the homeless but Lori proves that stereotype

Hi Rihana I totally agree with your point that you can have a mental disorder and yet not be insane. There is a stigma on people who struggle with mental disorders that they all must be insane but that is just not the case. It a shame that people with mental disorders not only have worry about how they feel about themselves, they have to worry about being stereotyped as insane and the reaction of other people as well. According to the National Alliance on Mental Health (2016) 1 in 5 adults experience a mental illness with in a given year. That makes mental illnesses fairly common which might be surprising to some people. When you realize how many people could potentially be suffering from a mental disorder it might be someone's feeling about

The stigma associated with mental illness often causes parents to deny the possibility that something deeper is going on in a child's brain. As a result, they attribute odd or unacceptable behaviors to laziness or irresponsibility. Or some just chalk them up to puberty. Some parents blame themselves—and assume their children's behavior is a reflection on poor parenting or inadequate role modeling, not understanding the genetic predisposition to mental

There are no reliable articles that have a conservative worldview against mental illness. Most people who are against mental illnesses are against it because of the following reasons: mental illnesses are not always visible and they do not realize they are very complex and vary from person to person. People who struggle with mental disorders, often mask their issues because of the stigma around being mental ill. There is also a lot of people who do not know that they are mental ill and will never know until professional diagnosed. A lot of people who are against it are primarily ignorant and just need to be educated on mental illnesses.

With mental illness being so prominent, it becomes crucial to study why there are so many negative views directed toward those who are suffering from an illness. These negative views often include the idea that they are violent, incompetent, and at fault for their illness (Corrigan, 2004). Not only do the individuals suffer from the actual illness, but they are also forced to suffer from these unwarranted stereotypes. These views that society holds, in conjunction with the labels given to those with a mental illness, often make their condition exponentially worse. The stigmas they are subject to often impede their road to recovery, as well as create additional stress for those who help to care for them (World Health Organization, 2001). (1)