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.
Incidences of Anorexia Nervosa have appeared to increase sharply in the USA, UK and western European countries since the beginning of the 60s (Gordon, 2001). The increasing prevalence of the disease has led the World Health Organisation to declare eating disorders a global priority area within adolescent mental health (Becker et al. 2011). Anorexia has in many ways become a modern epidemic (Gordon, 2000) and with a mortality rate of 10% per decade (Gorwood et al. 2003), the highest of any mental disorder (Bulik et al. 2006), it is an epidemic that social and biological scientists have been working tirelessly to understand.
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.
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
This unit aims to provide the learner with knowledge of the main forms of mental health problems according to the psychiatric classification system. Learners also consider the strengths and limitations of this model and look at alternative frameworks for understanding mental distress. The focus of the unit is on understanding the different ways in which mental health problems impact on the individual and others in their social network. It
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.
I have worked incredibly hard to obtain skills from various organisations to better understand mental health. I decided I needed to acquire additional work experience to give my application some weight. I am tenacious by nature and therefore despite being somewhat academically inferior to my rivals, I make up for in passion, determination and professionalism. I can assure you my grade does not define my ability to work with vulnerable people, families and colleagues and I would really like the opportunity to demonstrate this at interview. I am keen to explore the depths of applying psychology to health and the behaviour-change processes involved with working with young people in particular.
Every good parent desires to raise his or her child in the best care possible. However, this can become difficult if the child carries an illness. If the illness is not identified and treated properly, both the child and the parent will suffer physically, mentally, or emotionally. Among the many illnesses a parent may face and may have a difficult time identifying is bipolar disorder, or maniac-depression illness, a mental illness in which unusual mood swings occur within the child. Such disorder should not to be mistaken with the occasional ups or downs many people go through. The National Institute of Mental Health’s website provides parents valuable information of the disorder’s symptoms and treatments, as well as information on how to
In this paper, I will be interviewing for a psychologist position with a top company. I will be asked about my understanding of the causes and treatment(s) of schizophrenia and I will discuss the following: areas of the brain affected, causal factors, associated symptoms, the neural basis, appropriate drug therapies. I have been given four different case studies of disorders in which I will choose two of them to analyze. I will be discussing my understanding of the problem presented in each of the two case studies from the perspective of a biopsychologist. I will also be including each problem’s relation to the nature-nurture issue and any relevant portions of the Basics to Biopsychology text. I will be applying any
Hundreds of thousands of people die due to suicide every year. This number is estimated to double by 2020 should the current trend continue. The primary cause of these suicides is mental disorders and harmful use of alcohol - which in itself is a result of mental health related conditions. The World Health Organization reports indicate that 20% of the world 's children and adolescents suffer from one or more mental disorders and according to the Kim foundation, 57.7 million people in the US suffer from a mental health disorder.
The four key features that define anorexia nervosa are all based on the way we look at our bodies.1.The person refuses to maintain a minimally normal body weight. 2. The person being dangerously underweight is intensely afraid of gaining weight or becoming fat. 3. The person has a distorted perception about the size of their body, looking at themselves and seeing themselves as obese or fat but actually not. 4. Denial of the seriousness of the actual weight they are. All of which are how one like at their body and what they think about
Personality disorders are very defined and recognized in today’s society. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) published by the American Psychiatric Association provides common language and standards classifying mental disorders. The DSM is used by many people in varying disciplines in the USA as well as many other countries. In times past, people with disorders may have been outcast from a community or even persecuted. However, in our current culture the pendulum has swung in the other direction. It almost seems that there is a trend to explain all behavior by a mental disorder. This results in needing to disprove that certain people are not displaying a disorder, rather acting within a normal human emotion or
One in every seventeen people in America suffers from a mental disorder. These disorders inhibit the afflicted person from functioning properly and coping normally with daily life. Many afflicted with a psychological disorder do not exhibit obvious symptoms, as medical advancements have made it possible for these disorders to be suppressed or even nonexistent. Today, however, harsh stigmas exist that unfairly categorize those with a mental illness as violent, unfriendly, and abnormal. The media and federal government are culprits in fabricating the unrealistic depictions of mental disability that define the portrayal of those who are mentally or psychologically disadvantaged.
There are times when people are plagued with thoughts, behaviors or emotions that will inhibit them from normal behavior. These are known as psychological disorders. These disorders come in many forms but all will have large effects on a person’s life.