The Effectiveness of Medicine in Physiological Disorders Essay

In many cases it is very lazy of doctors to give medication before trying to find the root of a problem, treating patients more like animals than human beings with emotions and rights. Although saying this I do believe that in some cases the medical model is definitely needed. Medication has been seen to help conditions such as GPI and Alzheimer’s disease and Schizophrenia (McLeod, 2008). I have seen this to be true in a relative of mine who suffers from schizophrenia disease. I also believe that by medicine and mental illness being combined it has helped to show the importance of mental health to those who may have considered mental illness to not be ‘real’ before the use of medication was

Many terms and concepts are commonly associated with mental illness. the topic of mental illness has many overlapping and subset definitions. Mental illness, a term that encompasses a wide range of mental disorders, contains subcategories of mental disorders distinguishable by effects on a person's behavior, thinking, and mood. Disorders are the most commonly referred to an aspect of mental illness; types of disorders are schizophrenia, anxiety, and depression. Syndromes, even more, specific than disorders, pertain to particular systems within subcategories of disorders and are identifiable by distinct symptoms, mental or physical markers expressed by a disease; examples of syndromes are an obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and post-traumatic stress disorder

It hasn’t changed that the average person doesn’t like to feel pain or be ill. The evolution of medicine from 1776 to 1938 in the United States depended on the knowledge of current diseases and treatment at that time. The major diseases during this time were pneumonia, influenza, tuberculosis, gastrointestinal infections, heart disease and cerebrovascular disease.1 Ironically, much of those diseases still exist today. Over time, the world’s demand for drugs for any type of illness or disease drastically skyrocketed. Was the medicine really working or were people psyched into believing they had an illness? The diagnosis and treatment was incorrect many times, resulting in “shoulda, coulda, and wouldas” when dealing with diagnosis and medicine. Without a scientific basis, medical doctors, such as Benjamin Rush were ineffective with proper treatment, and quacks promoted strange treatments as to say: Yackedy Quack, Don’t Talk Back. By the end of the 20th Century, one could say American medicine was on the rise and researchers and physician were much more respected.

There are many different mental illnesses and ailments and just as many medications to treat them. The problem is that sometimes the medications are not correct for your disorders due to similar symptoms. This leads to problems with the patients who need help, but the patients are not getting the right medications and treatment they need.

Psychological disorders are stated to be abnormalities of the mind, known as mental disorders (Klasco, 2011). Abnormalities of the mind cause persistent behaviors that affect an individual’s daily function and life (Klasco, 2011). The different types of psychological disorders include mood disorders, personality disorders, anxiety disorders, and eating disorders (Klasco, 2011). The causes of these disorders are unknown, but factors that contribute to these disorders include childhood experiences, chemical imbalances in the brain, illnesses, heredity, stress, and prenatal exposures (Klasco, 2011). Psychological disorders can be serious and can be life-threatening

A psychological disorder, also known as a mental disorder, is a pattern of behavioral or psychological symptoms that impact multiple life areas and create distress for the person experiencing these symptoms. These symptoms are characterized by clinically significant disturbance in an individual 's cognitive, emotion regulation, or behavior that reflects a dysfunction in the psychological, biological, or developmental process underlying mental functioning. Mental disorders are usually associated with significant distress in social, occupational, or other important activities. Approximately 26 percent of American adults over the age of 18 suffer from some diagnosable mental disorder in a given year. (Cherry)

Many people are unaware of the fact that all medication contains substances that can be harmful to any individual. Most medications also have side-effects that can cause damage to the body, especially if it is taken over a long period. People react different to medication because their bodies function differently. What works for one person does not necessarily have the same effect on the next person.

The most common drug used for psychological problems is an antidepressant. Used for those who are depressed. They may not cure depression, but they can reduce your symptoms. Then you have mood stabilizers which tend to be effective against people who have bipolar disorder. These can also be used for schizophrenia patients. Then there are anti anxiety medication. This isn't just for everyday anxiety, it's mainly for those who are always stressed and end up hurting themselves or others due to their anxiety. The advantages of using medication is that most of the time there is instant relieve, leaving the patient feeling good. This can also be bad though because then the patient begins to rely on them and doesn't work to make themselves feel better,

I would need to be extremely careful and proceed with the most appropriate psychological evaluation. It is definitely achievable to be able to reach the correct diagnosis for each individual; however, the level of severity of the patient’s conditions may be so extreme that the treatment could be ineffective. To elaborate, many individuals may have the same diagnosis (e.g. bi-polar disorder or schizophrenia), but the treatment may not work for all of them. In addition, if the diagnosis is not even accurate and a treatment is administered, the patient could potentially become worse. For instance, the patient Bruce felt like his conditions worsened when he was taking the medications, whereas he was able to think more clearly when he wasn’t on the medications. Overall, it is imperative that healthcare professionals take the proper steps in order to accurately diagnose the patients and make sure that the treatment they receive is actually effective, and the patients show

It is not unusual for patients to need more than one mood stabilizing medication for best results.

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.

In most patients’ opinions, it is effective, and there are many proofs to support it. It is shown to heal patient’s troubles after they underwent treatment. Psychotherapy, in the long run, is preferred over drugs. Although this is all proven, studies show that in recent years it has decreased (http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/resolution-not-conflict/201208/8-reasons-cheer-psychotherapy-and-broaden-its-availability).

What would a person do if their health was adjusted, causing a hint of difficulty from performing simple tasks? The easiest answer would be applying medicine to stop or slow down the process. Now, what if the medicine cannot be applied or doesn’t effect the problem, what then? Life becomes a bit more complex, a bit more challenging, and a bit more reformed. Health is everything. Health grants the wish of tranquility. The stature of health, rather favorable health, eases the mind and empowers individuals to achieve simple tasks, responsibilities, work, and dreams. If an individual’s health is altered with any slightest adjustment the notion affects the physical and mental whole of a human. This physical and mental alteration may leave the individual lackluster, drained, dull, colorless, uneasy, and any other adjectives used to described an underperformance or mental blockade with oneself. Health seems to be deeply correlated with all aspects of life, more than humans forget to know. One of the most significant and damaging effects regarding health is obesity. Obesity is an affliction of being exceedingly overweight and is the hallmark of an epidemic that modifies one’s overall health far beyond any cold or fever. What’s worst about the inflicting, problematic disease of obesity is that it has no boundaries, affecting children as well. In relation to the journal, Obesity and Mental Disorders in the General Population, Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and

Mental illness is a disorder that is considered to be a type of interruption in a person’s emotions, thoughts, or behavior. Mental illness signifies to a wide variety of disorders which can range from mild distress to impairing a person’s ability to function in daily life. Signs and symptoms of mental illness can vary, depending on the particular disorder, circumstances and other factors. Whether a behavior is considered normal or abnormal varies on the person’s situation surrounding their behavior. Throughout history there’ve been three overall beliefs for the causes of mental illness. These three theories are known as supernatural, somatogenic, and psychogenic. Each one of these stands for how one is viewed when seen as having a mental illness.

The treatment of physical and mental problems has undergone a rapid change in the past few decades. An increasing number of bodily and behavioural symptoms now have a recognised medical diagnosis and corresponding treatment. Sociologists have attributed these changes to the process of medicalization, wherein “non-medical problems come to be defined and treated as if they were medical issues” (McLennan, McManus & Spoonley 2009: 271). Medicalization is an ongoing, gradual process which occurs through the social construction of new diseases by groups such as health professionals (Conrad 2007: 4). It can be argued that medicalization is an active and passive process by which diseases are constructed in an attempt to find treatments for patients; and that diseases can be ‘socially’ constructed as well as ‘corporately’ constructed by companies to create a profitable market of consumers. At the micro level of society, medicalization in the Western world has been influenced by liberal notions of individualization which has extended to some parts of the health sector. At the macro level, medicalization has been buoyed by the process of the professionalization, expansion of state monopoly over the health profession and religious and political social movements. Although some academics argue that the medicalization of society is less significant than the process of “de-medicalization”, there is clear evidence that the process of medicalization is intensifying and outstripping the rate