Relationship Between Mental Illness, Substance Abuse & Suicide

In the United States, suicide is the third-leading cause of death for 10 to 14-year-olds (CDC, 2015) and for 15 to 19-year-olds (Friedman, 2008). In 2013, 17.0% of students grades 9 to 12 in the United States seriously thought about committing suicide; 13.6% made a suicide plan; 8.0% attempted suicide; and 2.7% attempted suicide in which required medical attention (CDC, 2015). These alarming statistics show that there is something wrong with the way suicide is handled in today’s society. In order to alleviate the devastating consequences of teenage suicide, it is important to get at the root of what causes it all: mental illness. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Protection (2013), mental illness is the imbalance of thinking, state of mind, and mood. Approximately 90% of all suicides are committed by people with mental illnesses (NAMI, n.d.). This shows that there is a correlation between mental illness and suicide. If mental illnesses are not treated, deadly consequences could occur. It would make sense that if there is a correlation between mental illness and suicide across all ages, the same should be thought for adolescents. Approximately 21% of all teenagers have a treatable mental illness (Friedman, 2008), although 60% do not receive the help that they need (Horowitz, Ballard, & Pao, 2009). If mental illnesses are not found and treated in teenagers, some of them may pay the ultimate price.

Hippocrates was the first to recognize that mental illness was due to ‘disturbed physiology’ as opposed to ‘displeasure of the gods or evidence of demonic possession’. It was not until about one thousand years later that the first place designated for the mentally ill came to be in 15th century Spain. Before the 15th century, it was largely up to individual’s families to care for them. By the 17th century, society was ‘often housing them with handicapped people, vagrants, and delinquents. Those considered insane are increasingly treated inhumanely, often chained to walls and kept in dungeons’. There are great strides for the medical treatments for the mentally

For many centuries there has been multiple arguments about what causes mental illness. Hebrews believed that mental illness was a punishment from god for those who sinned. The way they cured one another was spiritually and through health. They believed that if you had a healthy diet that it would prevent you from any diseases. The physicians were also priests who had “special ways” to heal with higher powers. The biggest theory was that whoever had a mental illness was caused from supernatural forces. There had been many different treatments to help cure ones suffering. Dating back to 5000 BCE was the first treatment preformed on record, showing that one would chip a hole into the human skull to release evil spirits. Later on, the Ancient Egyptians

For many centuries, religious, spiritual and cultural beliefs preponderated societal actions and beliefs for those with mental illnesses. In ancient Greece, those with severe mental illnesses were abused because of the perpetuating belief that angry gods influenced them. Those suffering from mild mental illness faced disdain and humiliation. Prince (2003) even asserts “the cultural values of ancient Greece were precursors to the modern stigma that is associated with mental illness” (Kirby & Keon, 2004). In the middle ages, it was the belief that mental illness was routed to supernatural causes. It was believed that these individuals should be burned at the stake, hanged or decapitated to release their soul from being possessed by demons. The beliefs changed in the 17th and early 18th centuries to one that the physical state was impaired by those with mental illnesses because they had excessive passion they inflicted on themselves. These individuals were often physically restrained

Mental illness is a condition characterized by emotions, thoughts, or behavior that are substantially abnormal for a given time and place in history (p. 514). Historically, it has been broadly been defined by self-harm, unrealistic thoughts and perceptions (delusions, hallucinations, magical thinking, etc.), inappropriate emotions, and rapid shifts in moods or beliefs. All these criteria compare the

The history of mental illness represents the ways in which trends in psychiatry and cultural understanding of mental illness influence thoughts and attitudes towards mental health. The earliest records of mental illness show that many cultures have viewed it as a form of religious punishment or demonic possession. In ancient Egyptian, Indian, Greek, and Roman writings, mental illness was categorized as a religious or personal

Mental health illnesses have been around since interrelated relationships have been present in society. The treatment of this illness has evolved immensely throughout history. Early on, those who were mentally ill were demonized and thought to be an all mighty evil, which had the ability to be passed on to others. Due to this ideology, many people shunned, and banished those who were thought to be mentally handicapped. In order to protect society from these “beasts” many people imprisoned mentally ill individuals and were stripped of the ability to live their lives. Fortunately, as society progressed and different ways of treating the mentally ill were established through scientific advancements. Along with these advances, treatment for

The roots of mental illnesses can even be traced all back to Ancient Greece in 400 B.C. where people were believed to have been cursed by the gods when their minds were plagued by these things.

The treatment of mental illness dates back to 500BC. It was believed at that time that the mentally ill were possessed by demonic spirits. In some instances patients were also believed to be witches. “In ancient Mesopotamia, priest-doctors

This treatment come from misguides perceptions that individuals with mental illnesses may be unpredictable or more violent than individuals without those problems. Additionally, early beliefs regarding the causes of mental illness, such as spirit or demonic possession, were accounts that could virtually certainly result in reactions of discrimination, fear and caution.

The Greeks used to look at mental illness as an organic problem, but this point of view was changed drastically during the Middle Ages, after the Bubonic Plague. After this epidemic, all diseases were considered to originate from the supernatural; spirits, witches, demons, and even God himself were put to blame. After all, in their way of thinking, nothing so terrible happened so simply. It was during that time that people misdiagnosed mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, etc. as demon

“The history of treating mental illnesses dates as far back as 5000 B.C.E. with the evidence of “trephined skulls.” In the ancient world cultures, a well-known belief was that mental illness was “the result of supernatural phenomena”

The history of mental illness in the United States as for other parts of the world is ever-changing. Mental illness have been seen as insanity, source of sorcery, treated through the church, seen as genetic based etc. through the centuries. For example, due to the belief that mental illness was caused by evil spirit during the stone age, the cure was trepanation (History of mental illness lecture).We no longer see the use of trepanation because over time, knowledge of mental illness has evolved. In the twentieth century, there were three revolutions in the United States that initiated highly influential patterns of treatment for the mentally ill: psychoanalysis and the theories of Sigmund Freud, the widespread use of psychoactive drugs to treat

In ancient times mental illness was thought to be witchcraft. How many innocent people were burnt at the stake just because they were suffering with mental illness. In every culture, there are different stories and different ways to deal with it. Some it was seen as spirit possessions, some were seen as madness and some ancient psychiatrists had names for these illnesses. Having been through a mental illness in today's modern time and having a hard enough time as it was, it would have been terrifying in the ancient times to think you are a witch and will be burnt at the stake just because your brain is chemically imbalanced. Even today it is not properly

It is generally important to know the origin of an illness to approach how to treat it, but with mental illness this exploration can be murky, and different cultures can have different explanations for why they people is feeling and acting the way they are, and if their experience can even be